
Class _EI^4£L_. 



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COFlfKIGilT DSPOSZK 



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JOINT SPEOIAL COMMITTEE 



APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE THE LATE 



INSUEEECTION 



IN T n K 



OITY OF VIOKSBURG, WARREN COUNTY. 



PRINTED BY AUTHORITY, 



JACKSON, MISS.: 

Pll.DT IHT«T.1STT1NG COMPANY, «TATE PIITNTKR*>. 

.1875, 



' V4 1'/ 6 



REPORT 



OF THE 



JOINT SPECIAL COMMITTEE. 



Mr Speaker — 

Your Joint Special Committee, appointed under a joint res- 
olution providing for the appointment of a committee to in- 
vestigate the late insurrection in Warren count}', and also the 
alleged frauds, forgeries, embezzlements, etc., of officials and 
ex-officials of said countj^ hereby respectfully submit the fol- 
lowing: 

In accordance with the instructions in the resolution, your 
committee proceeded to Vicksburg and commenced by taking 
the testimony of witnesses upon what was alleged to have 
been the primary causes for all the troubles in that county, 
viz.: 1st. The forgeries and malfeasance of the officials; 2d. 
The insufficiency of the bond of Peter Crosby, as Sheriff' and 
Tax Collector; 3d. The probability of collusion and conspira- 
cy between Crosby and the officials and ex-officials under in- 
dictment to the end that they— the indicted officials— should 
escape punishment for their crimes, and the ends of justice be 
defeated by the Sheriff packing the petit juries that were to 
sit in judgment upon their cases. 



As to the lirst of the above charges, 3-our committee elicited 
from several witnesses a large amount of testimony which will 
be found immediatel}' following this report, as an appendix 
thereto. It was also ascertained that all the officials and ex- 
officials against whom charges of forgeries and malfeasance 
had been made were, at the time 3'our committee commenced 
its investigation, and had been for some time previous to the 
date of the insurrection in said county, under indictment by 
the Grand Jur3\ The courts had full and complete power to 
punish, if found guilty. The parties had been duly and 
promptly arrested, were under good bonds for their appear- 
ance when called upon, and the objects and injunctions of the 
laws carried out to the fullest extent. The Grand Jury that 
had their cases under consideration, a large majority of whom 
were colored, according to the evidence, almost unanimously 
voted in the affirmative for indictment. Nothing was presented 
In evidence which goes to show than any effort was made by 
parties in power, in any manner whatever, to shield or protect 
the officials charged with crimes. Therefore, this certainly 
could not be considered as a reasonable cause or excuse for an 
outbreak. 

The evidence taken by the Committee, in relation to the 
charges against the officials, is ex-partCy and for that reason, as 
well as for the one that persons should not be considered 
guilty until proven so in the Courts; also that it would be 
prejudicing and prejudging their case should 3'our Committee 
pass upon the evidence; that prevents 3-our Committee from 
commenting upon the matter except so far as to their acts 
being precedent causes for subsequent violation of law by 
some of the citizens of the county of Warren, and city of 
Vicksburg. 

As to the insuificiencv ut* the bond oi' the Sheritl, \oui- 
Committee was unable to glean much authentic information, 
A certified copy of the Sheriff and Tax Collector's bond is 
herewith submitted. 

Even thou2:h the bonds were not worth one dollar as seen- 
rities, which has never been charged, legal and peaceful means 
are provided in the statutes of our State for compelling a 
rectification. [See Code, section :U5.] The legal means 



"seems never to liave been resorted to until after the Sheriff 
]iad been compelled to resign by an armed body of men. 

It is stated, in evidence, that the Board of Supervisors had 
been called upon at various times, to assemble to take into con- 
sideration the iusuOiciency of Crosby's bond, and that a dis- 
position was manifested to evade their duty in that respect. 
Even if such was the case, and your Committee do not believe 
it to be borne out b\'' the evidence, there was another mode 
prescribed b}- the statutes, which seems not to have been 
taken advantage of until after mob violence had succeeded in 
ousting the officials, which was by seeking the aid and inter- 
position of a court of. chancerv, b}" injunction; therefore, the 
insutiicienc}- of the bond of Crosby as a precedent cause, does 
seem to your Committee to have been unreasonable. 

As to the third, viz.: The suspicion of a collusion or a 
conspiracy betveen Crosby, the Sheriff, and the indicted 
officials, we have but to say, that alter a careful examina- 
tion, we arc led to the presumption that it was merely an 
invention to be used as an adjunct to a political plot to 
obtain possession of the county offices, which your Committee 
believe to be the underlying cause of all of the trouble 
in the county of Warren, and which it is believed will 
be apparent b}' a careful perusal of the evidence. Noth- 
ing is shown to warrant the suspicion that a conspirac}^ ex- 
isted between Crosby and the officials under indictment, and 
he might have as reasonably been suspected of an intended 
violation of law in any other respect, merely because he had 
the power so to do. It is not right nor just to suspect an in- 
dividual of the desire or intention to commit a murder or any 
other crime, merely because he has the ability. 

Your Committee have received the fore«oin£c as the causes 
of the troubles in the cit}' of Vicksburg, from the testimony 
of various persons who presented themselves for examination. 
A request was made by the Committee, through its Chairman, 
of a gentleman who was designated as the President of the 
Tax-Pa3^ers' League (so called), under whose auspices the 
demand upon the officials to resign was made, that the names 
of fifteen witnesses to present the Tax-Payers' grievances and 
causes that led to the disturbances; which request was refused. 
The renson.> given -''n mp shown iu tln' correspondence print':?d 



6 

with the testimony — (see correspondence). F^r this reason, thef 
Committee were compelled to rely upon witnesses who pre- 
sented themselves. The foregoing are the alleged causes for 
the subsequent action of the Tax-Pa3^ers' League and their 
allies, which was as follows : Upon the second day of Decem- 
ber, 1874, a meeting was held' at the Opera House, in the city 
of Vicksburg; a committee was appointed by that meeting to 
investigate and report whether or not all legal means had been 
exhausted in reference to the offending officials. That com- 
mittee brought in two reports, one a majorit}^ report, and the 
other a minority report. The majority report informed the 
meeting that all legal means had not been exhausted. The 
minority report, on the contrary, was of the opinion that all 
legal means had been exhausted. The minority report was 
adopted, and the meeting immediately resolved to appoint a 
committee whose duty it should be to wait upon the Sheriff, 
Chancer}' Clerk, Treasurer, Coroner, and Justice of the Peace — 
all colored — and demand their immediate resignations. The 
committee was appointed, and proceeded to the Court-house, 
and there made the demand of the Sheriff and Chancery Clerk, 
which demand was refused. The committee then returned and 
reported to the meeting that the demand had been refused; 
whereupon, the meeting, which was composed of from three to 
four hundred men, repaired, in a body, to the Court-house, and 
demanded the resignation of the Sheriff, who was the only 
officer found — the rest having fled. 

Violence was insinuated — if not openl}^ avowed, it was 
threatened — if the demand to resign was not instantly com- 
plied with. To save his life, the Sheriff acceded to the de- 
mand. 

The Chancery Clerk, Davenport, made his escape, and left 
the city. The mob — for such it must be called, for they were 
acting under no authority of law — then and there appointed 
one John D. Beaird, from among their number, to take charge 
of the Court-house, jail, and all county property. Said Beaird 
did take possession of the same. Such was the condition of 
affairs on December 2, 1874. 

The Sheriff forced to resign, and one appointed of the mob 
in possession of the county propert}^ — no effort having been 
made to enjoin from collecting the taxes — and the Chancery 
Clerk and Coroner compelled to flee from the city. 



< Crosby left the cit}^ and proceeded to Jackson, and after 
advising with sonie friends, concluded to return to Warren 
county and re-assume possession of his office. He attempted 
to do so, on Friday, December 4:th, whenan alarm was sounded 
from the tower of the Court-house, and the city was again 
thrown into a state of excitement. Men moved from their 
homes and places of business with their guns to the Court- 
house, but when they arrived they found that Crosby had 
gone. A feeling of great excitement seems to have prevailed 
among the citizens of Vicksburg, which evidently extended 
only to the white citizens of Vicksburg; as it appears from 
the evidence, that the colored citizens of Vicksburg remained 
at their homes, and were not engaged in any turbulent trans- 
actions whatever. On Saturday, the 5th of December, a card 
appeared and was circulated through the city of Vicksburg 
and Warren count}^ signed by Crosby, calling upon all Repub- 
licans and good citizens to assist him in regaining possession 
of the Sheriff's office, from which he had been ousted by 
force. 

This card was read in several of the county churches, and 
information was conveyed to the people in the county that it 
was their Sheriff's desire and order that the}^ should come as 
a posse comitatus to the city and assist him to regain his 
office. Under the instructions then given, about five hundred 
men, women and children, repaired, by various roads, in the 
direction of the city of Vicksburg. A portion only of the 
number were armed, and those arms were of the poorest 
quality. 

It is not shown by the evidence, that it was the intention of 
this number to commit any act of violence against the citizens 
of Vicksburg, but that their object was but to assist the 
Sheriff in regaining possession of his office. 

Some were even ignorant of what was desired of them, and 
only knew that the Sheriff had ordered them, and believed 
they were compelled to obey the orders of the Sheriff. 

The first squad that approached the town seems to have 
approached by what is known as the Grove street road. Their 
approach was noticed from the tower of the Court-house, when 
an armed force proceeded to meet them outside of the city 
limits. After some parleying and consultation between one 



Andrew Owc-ns, the leader, :md Pclor Ciu.Tby, iht; Sherill", thev 
were returning to their homes and had proceeded about a niilo. 
when thc}^ were fired upon by the armed white men. 

From that time desultory firing commenced: whiclt iseems 
to have been almost exclusively confined to the whites. The 
colored people broke and run in various directions, and were 
followed closel}'^ by the whites, who succeeded in killing three; 
the number of wounded is not known. The weight of the 
evidence. goes to show, in fact, nearly ever\' witness examined 
on the matter, testifies that the colored men were returning 
peaceably toward their homes when fired upon. 

No preconcerted intention to fight even in self-defense seems 
to have been fixed upon by them, as barely a faint show of re- 
sistance was presented when they were attacked ; and the 
stampede which followed was probably as much caused by 
surprise and astonishment at the action of the whites as 
through fear. This fight (if such an affair can be called by 
that name, where one side is intent on doing all the killing^ 
and the other side upon clearing space), was the signal for a 
general attack upon th(i colored ])eo).>lo wherever found in 
squads. 

At a place known as •' Tiie Shirley House," where a iiumber 
of colored men had taken refuge, the doors were forced open, 
the house broken into, and the loss of eleven lives on the 
colored side was the result. 

One white man was killed. 

One. instance of killing will be given iiere to show the ex 
treme desire for blood by some of the persons engaged in the 
fight (who it u said were defending theik homes and theih 
FiiiESiDES FROM INVASION), taken from the testimony of one 
witness, and corroborated by others, and never denied by any: 

In tliG suburbs of the city of Vicksburo-, lived a half-witted 
old colored man, named Tom. Bltterman, or Bedderman, who 
obtained a livelihood by fishing and hunting. His gun to him 
was what tools are to a mechanic — a library to a lawyer, or 
instruments to a surgeon. On the night of the 8th December, 
a body of men rode up to his house, hollowed to him to come 
to the door, which he did ; they then asked him if there were 
any guns inside? when lie nnswered, there was a gun. whiph 
was his property. 



9 

A demand was then made for it, which he unwittingly re- 
fused, saying it was his propert}"; whereupon, his body was 
immediately pierced with bullets. The gun was then taken 
from the peg on which it hung, as a troph}^ of the victory. 

From the testimony of Ann Toles, on page 195, it will be 
seen that men were taken from the road and murdered, and 
their bodies left unburied for days — the whites seeming to 
have no inclination to bury them, while the colored people 
were afraid to give their relatives and friends Christian sep- 
ulture. 

From the testimony of Sarah Jane Green, on page 200, it 
will be seen that the murderers were robbers as well, and con- 
fiscated to their own use such property as their victims had 
about them at the time of their deaths. 

On page 230 the testimony of Col. A. T. Morgan, Sheriff of 
Yazoo county, is given in regard to the delivery of A. C. Mack 
to persons from Warren county. Col. Morgan had opportu- 
nity to know all about this case up to the time the Warren 
county officers left with the prisoner. Days afterward 
Colonel Morgan was notified that the body of A. C. Mack 
Avas lying unburied in Yazoo count3\ On some pretense his 
guard had " Coushattoed " him before they got him into War- 
ren county. Right here we call attention to the remarkable 
fact that nearly all the persons murdered were left unburied, 
and in some cases threats were made against any who should 
dare to hnry them. Such conduct from Modocs, or " other 
savages," would not be remarkable, and is only surprising here 
that "other savages" should have a peaceful residence in the 
midst of a Christian people. 

The evidence which follows this report shows some horrible 
and disgust-inspiring facts. Wives relating the loss of their 
husbands, who were killed days after the so-called fight at 
Vicksburg — miles away from that town-— taken by an armed 
force while quietl}^ attending to their business, and shot down 
and their throats cut to inspire fear in the minds of their 
neighbors. See pages 191-196. 

The testimon}' is replete with statements of deeds committed 
by organized bands of what are known as White Leaguers that 
rival in their horror-inspiring power the accounts of the depre- 
dations of the Comanche or Apache Indians. Some of these, 
In— 2 



10 

of course, must be taken with caution, but enough facts are 
clearly shown to bear out the above statement. 

Your Committee have come to the following conclusions: 

First — That the people of Warren county had some cause 
for dissatisfaction on account of the action of some of the 
county officials. 

Second — That the acts of some of the officials formed no jus- 
tification whatever for the action of the Tax-Pa3^ers' League 
of the city of Vicksburg, which was not indorsed by the good 
and law-abiding citizens of that municipality, and which was 
brought about by the turbulent demonstrations of a few men, 
some of whom pay no taxes whatever. 

Third — That there is an armed military organization in the 
count}^ of Warren, not authorized by law, composed wholly of 
white men, whose direct purpose it is to intimidate Kepublican 
voters in order to control elections. 

Fourth — That various acts of violence and murder have 
been committed by the aforesaid armed militar}^ organizations 
calculated to intimidate the colored people, and prevent them 
fL'om taking any part in public affairs. 

Fifth — That unless some steps are taken by the Legislature of 
this State, or by the general government, to secure to every 
citizen his right of suffrage, and to ^protect and assist the 
officers in the performance of their duties, all the laws for the 
punishment of criminals might as well be erased from the 
statute books. 

Therefore, we recommend the Legislature to take such 
action, authorized by the Constitution, as will best protect the 
citizen in his right of suffrage, and throw safeguards around 
his life and libert}^ and that the chief Executive of the State 
be given the necessary powers to enforce the laws where vio- 
lated and set at defiance in any locality within the bounds of 
State. 

Respectfull}^ 

M. B. Sullivan, 

N. G. Gill, 

Charles Caldwell, 

James D. Cessok. 



MINORITY REPORT. 



The undersigned members of the Committee appointed to in- 
vestigate affairs in Vicksburg and Warren county, having been 
informed by the members of the Committee preparing the ma- 
jority report, that two reports were inevitable, could only infer 
that the report of the majority was to be strictly partisan, and 
prepared for political effect . Without knowing what the report 
contains, we ask the permission of submitting our views, as 
briefly as the subject will permit. In opening the investiga- 
tion, the citizens of Vicksburg asked the privilege of being 
represented by counsel, which was refused. The undersigned 
did not consider the request to mean that such counsel, if ad- 
mitted, were to take any part whatever, in the proceedings, ex- 
cept to make suggestions to individual members of our Com- 
mittee, that the cross-examinations might be so conducted as to 
bring out all the facts in the case. We, therefore, proposed 
that such party to the troubles should have the liberty of 
having two persons with the Committee, at all times. 

This proposition was rejected. This, together with the more 
important fact that your Committee was appointed by a Legis- 
lature which had rendered its verdict in advance, and had per- 
sisted in pronouncing the people of Vicksburg in insurrection, 
without a hearing, caused the citizens almost entirely to ignore 
your Committee. The only exception to this, was in the case 
of three or four witnesses summoned at the request of Dr. 
Quinn to rebut the testimony of one William Scott, who had 
sworn to some very improbable things concerning Dr. Quinn's 
conduct on the 7th of December. The witnesses alluded to 
satisfied us full3% and w^e think— the whole Committee— that 
Scott's testimony was false. 

We first investigated the charges of fraud and corruption on 



12 

the part of officials. We found the evidence in these cases 
overwhelming and astounding. Our examinations in this 
respect were confined to the offices of Circuit and Chancery 
Clerk. The former office had been held by T. W. Cardozo, 
and afterward by A. W. Dorsey. 

The evidence against T. W. Cardozo, present State Superin- 
tendent of Public Education, is conclusive as to fraud, forgery 
and embezzlement. He appeared before the Committee as a 
witness in his own behalf, and had there been no other testi- 
monj^ his own would have convicted him. Dorsey and Daven- 
port do not seem to have been such adepts in crime as Car- 
dozo, but fully his equal in their total disregard of legal or 
moral restraints. Davenport's bond had been found in his 
own possession, but never recorded. Crosb3"'s bond, as Sheriff, 
contained neither amount nor date, nor was it approved by the 
Chancery Clerk, as required by law. His bond as Tax Col- 
lector was not dated or approved by the Clerk. The law re- 
quires that sureties on Tax Collectors' bonds should be 
examined b}' the Clerk approving the bond. This requirement 
was disregarded, and many of the sureties made affidavits 
before Justices of the Peace in difierent parts of the State. 
The tax-pa^^ers of Warren count}^ demanded that Crosby 
should make a good bond or resign, which they had a perfect 
right to do. 

Crosby did resign, but afterwards tried to regain his office 
by force, for which purpose the county negroes were ordered or 
requested to go to Vicksburg, on the 7th of December. In re- 
pelling this armed mob, and protecting their homes and their 
property, the people of Vicksburg were declared to be in insur- 
rection. They could not have done less without surrendering 
every principle of manhood. There is not a cit}' in America 
that would have submitted quietly to such an invasion. The 
testimony shows that fourteen negroes and one white man were 
killed in and around Vicksburg, on the 7th of December. One 
white and five or six negroes were killed afterwards. There 
were doubtless individual cases of violence in this as in all 
other distur])ances, which no one will fail to condemn, but the 
conduct of the people of the city in general was right. 

R. H. Allen, 
W. A. Champlain, 
H. M. Street. 



PROCEEDINGS 

OF MEETINGS OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE 
LATE INSURRECTION IN WARREN COUNTY, ETC. 



FIRST DAY. 

ViCKSBURG, Miss., December 28, 1874. 

Oa motion of Mr. Sullivan, it was agreed that the Chairman 
should confer with leading members of both parties, with a 
view to having fifteen witnesses, representing each side, sum- 
moned for examination, by the Committee. 

Motion to reconsider and lay motion to reconsider on the 
table prevailed. 

Oa motion of Mr. Sullivan, it was agreed that none but wit- 
nesses under examination should be admitted to the Commit- 
tee room. 

On motion of Senator Oaldwell, it was agreed that the rules 
laid down in Barclay's Digest should govern the deliberations 
of the Committee. 

On motion of Senator Caldwell, the motion to reconsider 
and lay the motion to reconsider on the table prevailed. 

On motion of Mr. Champlin, the Sergean tat Arms was 
authorized to employ one or more assistants, if necessary, to 
assist him in his duties. 

On motion, it was agreed that the meetings of the Commit- 
tee be fixed to begin at 9 o'clock a. m., and at 2:30 o'clock p. m., 
daily. 

On motion of Senator Allen, the Committee adjourned until 
9 o'clock to-morrow, December 29, 1874. 

In— 3 



14 

SECOND DAY. 

ViCKSBDRQ, Miss., December 29, 1874. 

Committee met pursuant to adjournment. 

Present— Messrs. Little, Caldwell, and Allen, of the Senate, 
and Messrs. Sullivan, Cessor, Champlin, and Gill of the House. 

On motion of Mr. Champlin, the Chairman was authorized 
to employ a stenographer for the use of the Committee in 
taking testimony. 

Subpoena issued for A. H. Arthur. 

On motion of Mr. Sullivan, Committee adjourned until 2 ;30 
o'clock. 

AFTERNOON SESSION. 

At 2:30 o^clock, the Committee met pursuant to adjourn- 
ment. 

All the members present. 

Judge A. H. Arthur appeared before the Committee, and 
stated that he was engaged b}^ a committee composed of two 
members of the Board of Supervisors, appointed by that 
Board, to assist them in examining the records in county 
offices; that said committee had not finished its labors, and 
had made no final report to the Board of Supervisors. 

On motion of Mr. Gill, the committee agreed to visit the 
Chancery Clerk's office to examine the official bonds of Messrs. 
Peter Crosby and G. W. Davenport. 

On motion of Mr. Champlin, the chairman was authorized 
to procure a transcript of the bond of the Sheriff and Tax 
Collector of Warren county, together with the order of the 
Board of Supervisors accepting the same. 

Senator Allen moved that Judge Arthur be requested to 
bring before the committee the records of the Circuit Clerk's 
office, which are charged with irregularities. 

Mr. Gill moved to table the motion of Senator Allen. 

Carried. 

On motion of Mr. Sullivan, the Chairman was authorized to 
obtain a certified copy of the Chancery Clerk's bond. 

On motion of Mr. Street, the committee adjourned until to- 
morrow, Wednesday, at 10 o'clock. 



, THIRD DAY. 

ViCKSBURG, December 30, 1874. 

The committee met pursuant to adjournment. 
Present — Messrs. Little, Caldwell and Allen of the Senate, 
Messrs. Sullivan, Gill, Cessor and Street of the House. 



15 

LUKE LEA 



Being called as a witness, and duly sworn by. the Chairman, 
eays: 

Testimony in chief. 
B3'' Mr. Sullivan : 

Question. You are the District Attornej"? 

Answer. Yes. 

Q. Do you know anything in regard to the alleged criminal 
actions of the officials of this countj^? 

A. All my information is mostl}' derived from information 
received before the Grand Jury, upon which they found bills 
of indictment against those officers, or ex-officers. 

Q» Do 3^ou know anything about the bonds of those officials? 
Have you ever investigated or examined as to that? 

A. No, sir; I have not. I may state that I saw Crosby's 
bond for the first time a few minutes ago. 

Q. Were you present at this meeting of citiaens at the 
theater on the second of December? 

A. No, sir; I was not. I have not attended any meetings at 
all, lately. 

Q. Were you in the Court-hoMse on the day when Judge 
Brown made the statement to the Governor that the court- 
house was obstructed ? 

A. There seems to have been some misunderstanding as to 
the day that Judge Brown has reference to in his communica- 
tion to the Governor. I understand from him that he refers 
to the proceedings on Wednesday, the da}^ the people came up 
here and required Crosby to resign. The facts in regard to 
that are, that the court had adjourned from the day previous in 
the midst of a jur}^ trial. The court had adjourned for the 
purpose of going on with the argument in the case. When 
the court opened, one of the jurors was missing. Upon in- 
quiry as to what had become of him, it was ascertained that 
he had got on a boat and had gone up the Yazoo river. Then, 
after transacting some other little business, there being no 
other criminal business before it, the court adjourned about 
twelve o'clock, or at an early hour, until Thursday. At that 
time we did not know what the meeting down town had done. 
It was in the afternoon before Vo-Qy made their appearance in 
the Court-house; so that the court on that day was not in ses- 
sion when the mob, or whatever it was, came up here. I do 
not consider them anything else except a mob in a legal point 
of view. I think it had very much the appearance of a law- 
less assemblage when tliey come and compel an officer to re- 
sign, to sa}^ the least of it; but the court was not in session 
when they came up here on that day. The judge had left, and 
I had left the Court-house at that time. I had some business 
in the afternoon in the Clerk's office, and returned. 

Q. Have you any reason to believe* that there was any collu- 



16 

sion between Crosby, the Sheriff, and the parties under indict- 
ment? 

A. I have no knowledge at all about that. There were cer- 
tain circumstances that were nither suspicious; but it did not 
amount to aii}^ evidence. It was a mere matter of suspicion. 
There is no fact in my knowledge that would justif}" such a 
belief. The parties were known as intimate friends, and it was 
understood that thcv had taken a very active part in assisting 
Crosby in getting bond, and I suppose there was that sort of 
relationship existing between them, as there naturally would be 
under the circumstances ; but as to any evidence as to any act 
of collusion, I know of none. 

Q. Did Crosb}' have any legal right to summon a posse comi- 
tatus from among the citizens? 

A. That is a legal question. I do not think he had, in the 
way he did. The law is, that when a process is resisted, or 
when he discovers a mob, that the Sheriff shall go and sum- 
mon, in person, a posse. BufI do not think that the law con- 
templates that a man may send circulars about in the countr}'', 
telling the people to sustain him. 

Q. Is it not known that Crosby himself went in the country? 

A. Tliat was understood. 

Q There have been charges made against these officials — a 
Chancery Clerk and ex-Circuit Clerk, now State Superintendent 
of Public Education. Do you know anything about the ground 
upon which those charges were made? 

A. Yes; I know the eviJence upon which the Grand Jury 
acted in finding the indictment. I was not in the State when 
the affidavits were made against them originall3^ ; I was in 
Tennessee. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. You say you did not think the Sheriff had the right to 
summons a, posse in the manner in which he did. If it was 
impossible for the Sheriff to summons in person, has he not 
the riglit to summons through others? 

A. He has the right to summon by deputies; the Sheriff can 
only summon m person or by deputies. But, I don't think he 
has the right to send circulars around to tell people to come 
and put him in office, for instance. Being here myself, I could 
see what would be the result of it; any man could. I regretted 
it, and did so on account of the men who were killed; because 
I think ever}^ man who was killed, was killed as an innocent 
man. I think tiie country people brought in here, thought 
they were doing nothing wrong. I believe every one of them 
thought they were doing just exactly what was right ? 

By Mr. Sullivan : 

Q. You don't think it was an armed mob of infuriated 
negroes coming in forre^•^nge ? 

A. No; I don't think so. There may have been some of 



17 

them who thought they were going to have a frolic: but, I 
think, the mass of them came here simply to reinstate Crosby. 
I have seen nothing to justify me in believing otherwise. 

Q. Have you seen or heard anything of that kind ? 

A. No; nothing except rumors. I know nothing about it 
myself. I was not particularly in the confidence of eitiier 
party here. I cannot say that I approved of what was done 
on either side. I will state that I did not know, until Monday 
morning, that the colored people were coming into town. If 
I had known it the night before, I am perfectly satisfied that I 
could have prevented it; but it was not until breakfast time 
on Monday that I knew it. Then I went out to persuade them 
to turn back. I rode out a mile and a half I am satisfied 
that if I had come in communication with them before any 
fighting had occurred, that I could have prevented it. 

By Ml. Street: 

Q. What officials have been indicted, and upon what charges? 

A. I have the indictment here in this bundle of papers. T. 
W. Cardozo is indicted for forgery and for embezzlement. 
There are seven indictments against him, and one or two are of 
more than one count. Under the law, while acting as Circuit 
Clerk, it is his duty to collect certain taxes, which are in 
arrears on lands sold to the State and redeemed. It was ascer- 
tained that he had collected something in the neighborhood of 
two thousand dollars on this account. This mo'ney, this re- 
demption money, or land purchase money, under the Act, be-- 
longs to the school fund, and it was his duty, under the law, to 
make monthly reports to the Auditor, of his collections. He 
failed to do that, almost entirely, and never made any prompt 
accounts to the Auditor. The. Auditor was before the Grand 
Jury, and testified to the facts. It was very much on the tes- 
timony of the Auditor that the bills were found against Car- 
dozo. A. W. Dorsey, his successor in office, was also indicted 
for embezzling the same funds. He collected some eighteen 
hundred dollars in the same wa^', and never accountecf for a 
cent; never pretended to make any report. Then Cardozo 
was indicted for forging warrants— issuing them falsely. 
There were three cases, I remember, where he issued certifi- 
cates in favor of three well-known citizens of this town, all 
more or less educated, and writing good hands, one of them 
being a book-keeper, writing a splendid hand, and these war- 
rants were endorsed in the hand-writing of Cardozo, as having 
been endorsed by the parties making their cross marks. 

[At this stage of the proceedings, the following communi- 
cation was received by the Committee:] 



18 

COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS. 

To the Hons. F. H. Little, R. H. Allen, Charles Caldwell^ 
M. B. Sullivan, J. D. Cessor, H. M. Street, W. A, 
Cham-idin and N. G. Gill, members of the Committee ap- 
pointed by the Legislature oj Mississippi, to investigate the 
recent troubles in Warren county: 

Gentlemen — In accordance with the request of a meeting of 
the citizens of Vicksburg, and as a committee appointed by 
that meeting, we respectfully demand of your honorable Com- 
mittee that, during the investigation now pending before you, 
the white citizens and tax-payers of this city and county, be 
granted the right to appear, by counsel, to confront their ac- 
cusers, and cross-examine all witnesses who maj- testify against 
them. 

G. Gordon Adam, 
E. D. Clark, 
L. W. Magruder, 
T. C. Catchings, 
U. M. Young, 
Warren Cowan. 

Vicksburg, Miss., Dec. 30, 1874. 

The committee of citizens were allowed to enter and ver- 
bally urge their request. The committee of citizens then with- 
drew, whereupon the following reply was given in writing: 

REPLY to the committee OF CITIZENS. 

Col. G. Gordon Adam, a7id others, Committee on the pari of cit- 
izens of Vicksburg: 

Gentlemen — I am directed hy the Joint Committee of the 
Legislature of Mississippi, appointed to investigate the late 
insurrection, and also the alleged frauds, corruptions, embez- 
zlements and forgeries of officials in Vicksburg and Warren 
county, and all other matters and acts pertaining thereto, now 
in session at the Court-house, to acknowledge the receipt of 
your demand of this date, " that during the investigation now 
pending, the white citizens and tax-pa3'ers of this cit}' and 
county, be granted the right to appear, by counsel, to confront 
their accusers, and cross-examine all witnesses who may testify 
against them," and to say that the Committee feel competent 
to make the investigation required in the resolution, and to do 
justice to all parties; and, therefore, respectfully decline to 
accede to your demand. 

(Signed) Finis H. Little, 

Chairman of Committee* 

Vicksburg, Dec. 30, 1874. 



19 

A minority of the committee sent a communication in reply, 
announcing themselves in favor of granting the demand. 

EXAMINATION OF LUKE LEA, RESUMED. 

Witness — I have a number of these certificates. There is a 
certificate issued to a man named A. LeGrand for attendance 
as witness, signed by Cardozo as Clerk. Upon the back of 
that is his certificate. It is indorsed A. LeGrand — his mark — 
and witnessed by Cordozo. That is in the handwriting of 
Cardozo. All the writing of this certificate, except the filling 
up here, is in the handwriting of Cardozo; the balance is in 
the handwritinof of his wife. 



•o 



By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Do 3'Ou kno^v this man LeGrand? 

A. Yes; he is a very old citizen in town here. He was before 
the Grand Jury, and said he was never a witness in that case; 
that he never appeared or applied for any witness fee, and that 
as far as he was concerned it was a forgery. Here are four 
certificates, all in the name of LeGrand, all in the handwriting 
of Cardozo, and indorsed in the same way — " his mark." And 
31r. LeGrand writes a good hand, Here are five others of a 
like character, issued to J. H. Swatley. Mr. Swatley was not 
sworn as a witness in that case, as he testified before the Grand 
Jury, and he made the same statement that LeGrand made, 
that these certificates were not demanded by him, and that he 
never authorized an}' one to demand or receive them for him. 

Q. And he never had them in his possession? 

A. No; never. 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. What is done with such certificates? 

A. These were paid out of the State Treasur}', and they were 
paid to Cardozo. He got the money on them out of the State 
Treasury. Here are four others, issued to a man named Gillie 
Smith, also an old citizen, He appeared before the Grand 
Jury, and testified that they were all forgeries; that he never 
appeared as a witness. They were all indorsed by '* his mark," 
written by Cardozo; and Smith writes a good hand. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. What was the amount of all these certificates? 

A. The Auditor testifies that there has been paid upon such 
certificates from six to seven thousand dollars in the aggregate. 
I have found, that in the two years that Cardozo was Clerk, he 
issued of these witness certificates from four to five times as 
man}^ as had been issued by any of his predecessors in the 
same period. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Will the records show that ? 



20 

A. Yes ; that the number of these certificates issued by 
him were four or five times as great as the number issued iu 
the same period of time by any of his predecessors. I had 
heard something of that kind, and it is due to the Judge and 
to myself that we have no means of informing ourselves as to 
this; but 1 had heard that a number of these certificates had 
been issued, and some time last summer I called the Auditors 
attention to the fact that we had no means to detect the fraud, 
but that I thought it was the duty of the Auditor to be appre- 
hensive. Shortly after that I went away, and in two or three 
weeks I learned that the Auditor had preferred charges against 
Mr. Dorsey. Now, as to Dorsey, he seems to liave gone into 
it b}' the wholesale. Here is a batch of Dorsey's. He seems 
to have issued and sold to Henr}' Meyer seven hundred in one 
lot. These were warrants issued by him, or his deputy, a man 
named Perkins. 

Q. Have you examined to see whether the money has been 
received on them? 

A. Some of the parties are liere, living in town, and the 
warrants were issued for mileage. These are onl}^ a small 
batch of Dorsey's issues. These never went into the hands 
of the parties to whom they were issued. The Auditor be- 
came satisfied that these were all fraudulent. 

Q. Have these been paid b}^ the Auditor? 

A. No; these here were refused payment. There was 
gross negligence at the Auditor's office. I am astonished that 
there the}' did not see it sooner. 

Q. Who is this man, A. Anderson? 

A. I don't know. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. Cardozo has been indicted in a good many cases? 

A. Seven. 

Q. And Dorsey in how many? 

A. Four, I think. 

Q. You understand that Dorsey admits the charge? 

A. So I understand; I am told he has — in fact, it has been 
intimated to me that he would perhaps be willing to turn 
State's evidence; but I have made no such agreement. 

Q. What do you know of the bond of Peter Crosby? 

A. I don't know but very little: I only looked at the bond 
this morning. 

Q. Would you have considered it a good bond ? 

A. No; I would not. 

Q. Is it regular in form? 

A. It would be a good bond in law, as far as that is con- 
cerned. 

Q. You know the bond is without date? 

A. Yes. I don't think that that would vitiate it at ail. 
That could be proven. The difference of form would not 
vitiate it; but as to the security, that is another question. 



21 

Q. What about Davenport's bond? 

A. That bond could not be found two or three weeks ago. 
It was not among the other bonds. But since then it was 
found in a })rivate drawer. 

Q. At the time of the difficultj^, was it known that Davenport 
had furnished no bond? 

A. His bond could not be found. 

Q. Is it not customar}' to have such bonds recorded? 

A. The law requires it to be recorded. 

Q. Davenport was elected and took posoession of the office 
at what lime? 

A. In 1871, 

Q. As far as the records show, he had given no bond up to 
the time of the difficult}^ ? 

A. The records did not show any; it was not recorded, un- 
less it has been recorded within the last two or three days. 

Q. As far as the people could ascertain from the records, he 
had given no bond? 

A." That is so, sir; because it was not recorded. Mr. Dav- 
enport explaine'd, that his immediate predecessors should hpve 
recorded the bond. But, when the bond was filed, his imme- 
diate predecessor was not there, and it was Mr. Davenport's 
duty to record the bond. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 
*Q. "Was it not a part of the record, if marked filed ? 

A. It ought to have been marked filed. 

Q. Have you any evidence as to whether it was marked filed, 
or not? 

A. I have not; I could not find the bond. The Board, at 
its last meeting, not being able to find the bond, upon my ad- 
vice, made an order requiring Davenport to give a new bond, 
within thirty days, with the understanding that if he produced 
any existing bond it would be rescinded. But, whether they 
consider the bond now produced good, I do not know. 

By Mr. Street: 

*^Q. I would like to call ,your attention to Section 310, Revised 
Code of 1871. I desire to know whether, or not, you consider 
the making of the oath required before a magistrate of another 
county sufficient ? 

A. The intent of the statute seems to be that it should be 
taken before the ofl^icer approving the bond. But, if a man 
goes before a magistrate of another county, I think he would 
be guilty of peijury, if he took a false oath. 

Q. Then this section requires the bond to be approved by 
the President of the Board of Supervisors, and the Clerk of 
the Board. Would a simple order of the Supervisors ou their 
minutes be an approval ? 

A. I don't think the Clerk need approve his own bond. 



22 

Q. But, in case of the Sheriff, would a simple entry on the 
minutes be an approval of his bond ? 

A. No. 

Q. Ought not the bond of the Clerk have the approval en- 
tered on the bond itself ? 

A, It ought to be a matter of record somewhere. It would 
be more formal to have it entered on the bond itself. 

Q. Have 3'ou examined Crosby's bond, and do you know 
whether the Clerk of the Board had approved the bond? 

A. I don't think tliere is any approval entered on the bond 
at all. 

Q. Would the sureties' names not appearing on the face of 
the bond make any difference? 

A. No, sir; it makes no difference if his name is signed to 
the bond. I know that in Crosby's bond there are several 
names in the bod}^ of the bond that are not signed to the bond. 
And some have signed that don't appear on the face of the 
bond. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. Do you know anything of the docket, or the minutes of 
the Court, having been altered or int(jrlined ? 

A. If 3'ou send down to the Court for the minutes of the 
term before last, you will find one page in the handwriting of 
the then Clerk, Cardozo, following the last day's proceedings 
of the term. There is one page filled up with an entry of 
allowances to witnesses. It was a gross irregularity. What 
he put it there for, I cannot understand. It cannot be con- 
sidered part of the minutes; iu is not signed by the Judge. It 
is without date, and does not appear to have been entered nui}G 
pro tunc; and the Judge says he did rot authorize the entry. 
What Cardozo intended by making the entry, I cannot 
immagine. 

Q. It follows the Court's signature ? 

A. Yes; there is no signature of the Court following. It 
does not appear to have been for any particular tern:. It is 
only an entry, that A, B and C were allowed for attendance as 
witnesses, so much. 

Q. Where do allowances to witnesses come in? 

A. They are allowed in open Court; all certificates are made 
in open Court. 

Q. Were there an}- allowances made for these witnesses 
named there? 

A. No; there is no appearance at all on an 3^ record, of his 
certificates having been made b3' any order of Court. And so 
it is in regard to those of Cardozo, the certificates upon which 
he received pav. There is no appearance, on the minutes of 
the Court, of allowance of mone3^ of these claims, upon which 
they have received pay. 

Q. Did you ever see the card of Peter Crosb3% circulated, 
summoning tx posse to come to Vicksburg? 



23 

A. I saw a card published over his signature. It was brought 
here published on a separate sheet with the Plain Dealer. 

Q. What did that card state? 

A. I don't remember; it was a very inflammatory card. 

Q. Calculated to excite the people? 

A. It was, undoubtedly; and it did excite the people. I am 
told it was extensively circulated. 

Q. What date did that card appear? 

A. On the Saturday before the Monday when the fighting 
took place. 

Q. You considered the card inflammatory? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did it summon this }-)osse to come to Vicksburg ? 

A. It was not a posse\ but it was an appeal to his friends to 
stand by him. I don't remember now whether it requested 
them to rally or not; I read it rather hastily. 

Q Did you ever see, or know anything of a dispatca 
addressed to P. C. Hall, Captain of militia, to hold himself in 
readiness to reinstate Crosby? 

A 1 did not see the dispatch to him. I saw a dispatch re- 
ferring to the fact that Hall had been instructed or requested 
to hold himself in readiness. 

Q. Who was that dispatch from, that you saw? 

A. From the Governor. 

Q. To whom was it addressed ? 

A. To Judge Brown. 

Q. Do 3-0U know the date of that dispatch? 

A. I do not; it was the day after the Wednesday on which 
the people came up here and requested Crosby to resign. 

Q. That was before the fight ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. That dispatch was to Judge Brown, from Gov. Amesi* 

A. Yes. 

q. Saying that he had instructed P. C. Hall to hold himself 
in readiness to reinstate Crosby? 

A. Yes; I cannot say exactly the language. The idea was 
that Hall was instructed to use such force as might be neces- 
sary to assist Mr. Crosby. 

Q. Who is this Hall ? 

A. He is a colored man, captain of a colored militia com- 
pany. 

Q. Was he the only militia officer here? 

A. I suppose not. 

Q. Was he the ranking militia officer here? 

A. I don't know; I take it he was not. 

Q. Is not Col. Beard a colonel of militia? 

A. I have understood so. 

Q. That dispatch made no reference to any other mihtia 

officer? 

A. No, sir; I think that dispatch was, perhaps, m answer to 
Judge Brown's letter. I think it indicated that it was an 
answer to a letter from Judge Brown. 



24 

Q. Yoii were here during the troubles? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you think this trouble could have been avoided? 

A. I think it might have been avoided very easily. I have 
already suggested that if I had had any knowledge of what 
was going on, I could have prevented any bloodshed. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. State whether or not the official bond of tlie Sheriff is de- 
fective in form ? 

A. I think it is good in law. We have a statute that makeS' 
most an3'thing a good bond. 

Q. You say that some official action is necessary in approving 
a bond ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Is there not an order on the minutes of the Board of Su- 
pervisors accepting the bond; and if so, is not that sufficient? 

A. I don't know whether there is or not. If there be an 
order of the Board, on the minutes of the Board, approving the 
bond, I suppose that would be sutficient. 

Q. That Board, under the law, is authorized to judge of the 
sufficiency of all official bonds? 

A. In one case only — where the}^ require an officer to give a 
new bond. This last bond of Crosby's was given upon an 
order of the Board, and they had the approval of it. 

Q. At the time that disturbance took phice, you sa}" the Cir- 
cuit Court was in session, and in the midst of a murder trial? 

A. No; a criminal case. 

Q. Did the Court terminate its session then informally? 

A. Not on that da}', bat the Monday following. 

Q. That trial was never concluded ? 

A. No. 

Q, What was the reason ? 

A. One of the jurors was missing. 

Q. Who was that juror ? 

A. A man named Donovan; a 3'oungman. 

Q. You don't know what caused him to leave? 

A, I do not; I am told that he went on board of a boat, 
and that he was carried away involuntarily. 

Q. Was not the Sheriff present when the Court adjourned ? 

A. Yes; either himself oi'hy deputy. 

Q Was he in the city? 

A. I am pretty certain that he was in the city. 

Q. Was fie not in custody at the time the Court terminated 
its session? 

A. No; the committee had not c..)me up then. There was 
a committee of ten appointed t''> come up here and interview 
them, to request tbem to resign; the}' declined; the com- 
mittee went back. Then, aftor^ considerable delay, they re- 
solved themselves into a committee of tlie whole and came up. 

Q. Was there an}- cause of complaint? Did not the people 
have a legal remedy? 



25 

A. I thought so. I advised them to desist from anything 
like kiwlessness or violence. After that committee went there, 
there was a committee of three lawyers and two citizens ap- 
pointed, and a majority of this committee reported to the 
meeting that all legal remedies had not been exhausted. But 
the minority report was adopted, and they went to the Court- 
house and demanded the resignation of Crosby and Daven- 
port. 

Q. What do you think would have bean the result or the 
fate of these officials, if they had not resigned ? 

A. I cannot say; I am slow to believe that the people 
would have resorted to lynch law. They might have taken 
them and locked them up in jail; I do not think they would 
have murdered them. 

Q. You think there would have been no violence? 
A. No personal violence; I think they might have been 
taken into custody; but I do not think they would have lynched 
them. There were a great many men, and a number of very 
excited young men, full of whisk}^ and they might have done 
some lawless act, but the great mass of the people would not 
have approved of any such action. I don't believe it at all. 
The feeling of the mass of the better class of the population 
would have been against it. 

Q. Would the officials under indictment have been tried at 
that term?' 

A. That was my intention; those men, who were in office. 
1 did not care to try those that had been in office, then; but 
Cardozo and Davenport 1 did intend to have tried, and so did 
Judge Brown: and he assented to try them, at least on one of 
the numerous indictments. 

Q. What was the charge against Davenport? 
A. He was indicted for forgery and changing records. 
Q. In what did that forgery consist ? 

A. In issuing warrants for fraudulent purposes, and issuing 
warrants without authority, and fraudulently, which is forgery 
under our statutes. 

Q. Under what circumstances did he fraudulently issue war- 
rants? 

A. Here is a warrant for fifty dollars, issued to George W. 
Davenport, by Geo. W. Davenport, and it was issued in viola- 
tion of law. There is another one; there is another; there is 
one to Geo. W. Davenport; there is one to Charles W. Bush, 
and tliat warrant. No. 405, for seventy five dollars, has been 
paid into the county treasury twice, and it is supposed to have 
been burned twice. That was found in the Chancery Clerk's 
office by the committee appointed by the Board of Supervisors 
to investigate. Here is a little ten dollar warrant, issued to 
Marble, who says he never received that warrant. Davenport 
admits he issued that. Here is one to A. L. Pierce, five of 
them for twenty dollars each, all proven to have been issued by 
Davenport. The}* have been paid into the county treasury, 



26 

aud marked canceled, and Mr. Pierce swears that he never 
received an}^ such warrants, and they are not indorsed in Mr. 
Pierce's handwriting. 

Q. Was that warrant in the hands of Davenport marked 
canceled ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do 3'ou Icnow whether or not it has been the custom of 
the Chancer^' Clerk to take up large warrants and issue small 
ones in place of them ? 

A. Yes; it was at one time; but the Legislature passed a 
Law against it. 

Q. Has it not been done since the passage of that law ? 

A. Yes. He knew of the law, and these warrants were 
issued in excess of any allowed. 

Q. Was there not a one hundred dollar warrant allowed to 
Mr. Pierce ? 

A. Mr. Pierce says not. He says these warrants were not 
applied for by him; that he never knew anything about them. 
He used to be City Engineer. 

Q. How many persons were killed on the da}" of the dis- 
turbance ? 

A. I don't know ; I did not see any one myself. I did not 
get out. I endeavored to get out to the colored people and get 
them to go home. I can only judge from rumors. 

Q. Was there much disorder and excitement ? 

A. There was a great deal of excitement; people running 
about with arras. 

Q. Was there any effort on the part of officers of the county 
or city, to preserve the peace? 

A. I did not see any officers exert themselves to keep the 
peace whatever. The people had received their arms, and 
were rallying to the Court-house. There was a sort of a gen- 
eral panic and excitement among the citizens. The}- magnified 
the danger. It would have been a terrible thing if the colored 
people in the city had not kept perfectly still. The colored 
people in the city kept perfectly still and quiet. But, if those: 
from the country had got in and commenced fighting in the 
city, it would have resulted in indiscriminate slaughter. 

Q. Has there ever been an indictment found against Crosby 
for dishonest action ? 

A. No; the Grand Jury failed to find any indictment. He 
was reported before the Grand Jury, and charged with having 
failed to pay the Grand Jurors of tlie preceding terra. It was 
in proof that he had received the money from the treasury, 
and he had used the money in the settlement of his own 
account, and had not paid a number of Grand Jurors. There 
was one Grand Juror who had in his possession a number of 
those warrants. 

Q. What time was it that the Grand Jury failed to find any 
indictment against Crosby? 

A. At the last term— the December term. 



27 

Q. How long before the insurrection? 

A. A week or two; not more than a week, perhaps. 

Q. What do you think was the cause of the outbreak, or the 
excitement, on the part of the tax-pa3^ers? 

A. I don't think it can be ascribed to any particular thing. 
There was a good deal of discontent on the part of the tax- 
payers, against the otBcers, and it had been gradually growing, 
as one thing and another would occur, and the excitement 
would increase almost to desperation. The impression of a 
great many was, that there was no legal remedy; that there 
could be no fair trial; that they were all in collusion; that 
Crosb3^ would have a good deal to do with impaneling the 
jury. I did not concur m3^self. I did think that we might 
possibly succeed in getting fair juries, and, unless their evi- 
dence to rebut the prima fncie case against them was very 
strong, that I could convict them. I was very anxious to try 
them. 

Q. Do you think that Crosby, in his official capacity, could 
have prevented the conviction of the officials? 

A. He might, if he was so disposed. 

Q. Do you think he was so disposed ? 

A. I cannot say. 

Q. What has been the tone of the public newspapers of the 
city, within the last three or four months ? 

A. Very violent in some respects. 

Q. Was it calculated to excite one portion of the people to 
acts of violence against another ? 

A. Well, it had that tendency. Inflammatory articles ap- 
peared in two papers here, almost daily. 

Q. Do you think, under the teachings of the city papers, 
that it was natural that there should be an outbreak ? 

A. I think their editorials tended that wa}-. I think, how- 
ever, that th-ey did not have the support of the people here. I 
know a good many people would read them and express their 
condemnation of them. 

Q. Were thc}^ pretty generally read ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Were you here at the time demand was made, b}^ the 
crowd, for Crosby's resignation; and if so, how man}'- persons 
were here ? 

A. I was not at the Court-house then; I was down town and 
saw them marching up. My impression is that there was not 
exceeding one hundred actually participating in it. There 
were a good many going along out of cuiiosity; but my im- 
pression is that of those actually participating in the move- 
ment to get Crosby to resign, there were not more than une 
hundred. There were doubtless more than that around the 
Court house square, but the majority were here from curi- 
osity* 



28 

Q. Don't you think that the business people, men having 
large interests here in this city, were opposed to this action? 

A. Yes; I have no doubt. 

Q. But they were led by the minorit}^? 

A. Yes. You know, a few active energetic men will go and 
do things as they please pretty much; men having large inter- 
ests, and who are o[)posed to such action, are generally pas- 
sive. A great, many of the men at the meeting did not come 
to the Court-house at all. 

Q Do you know of any intimidation having been practiced 
on the ]k)ard of Supervisors, by threatening or loud talking, 
or incendi:iry language, during its session? 

A. I have known things taking place before the Supervisors, 
not only the late Board, but the old, which I have told them 
that I would not have submitted to; but I would have put 
some of those men in jail. 

Q. They have been insulted? 

A. Tiiey have just allowed a loose sort of practice to prevail, 
and anybody could come in and talk. 

Q. Don't you think they were afraid to punish any of those 
people for contempt? 

A. I don't know. I don't think they appreciated the inde- 
cency of it. It was so with the preceding Board, presided over 
bj' McGee; and it was so with this Board. 

Q. Who were the persons who would come in at the meet- 
ings? 

A. I recollect at one occasion, when Doctor Shannon and 
Major McGruder came in. 

Q. Did they use threatening language? 

A. i^o; but their manner was offensive and rude; such as 
no Court with proper respect for itself would permit. I don't 
wish to convey the idea that the Board has done anything 
under the influence of any threat or intimidation, but they have 
allowed disrespectful behavior and loud talking before them, 
wdiich they ought not to have tolerated. Now, in this connec- 
tion, perhaps it is due to the Court, to the Board, and the 
Grand Jury, and to myself, as the District Attorney, to state 
that a great many misrepresentations have found their way 
it^ito the newspapers. The idea has been thrown out that there 
was intimidation used on the part of the tax-pa^'ers in the 
organization of the last Grand Jur}'; that it was a Grand 
Jury, packed, as it were, b}' the Tax payers' League. I don't 
believe it. The Board of Supervisors is composed, as 3'ou 
know, of live men. Four of them are colored, and one 
white man. They are all staunch Republicans. When 
they met and set about selecting a Grand Jury, there 
were a number of tax- payers present on that occasion. They 
spoke rather disrespectfully; and the Board was induced to 
change some of the appointments they had first made, or 
rather the members of the Board would nominate. That is 
the rule ; each one nominates so many. When that took place 



29 

the tax-payers would object to some of those nominated: but 
the}' did not suggest the names of anybody to be substituted. 
In two or three instances the Board consented to withdraw the 
original names and substitute others, but those substituted 
were not selected by the tax-payers. As an evidence that the 
Board was not unduly intluenced, 1 will state that the Grand 
Jurj^ was organized with ten colored men and seven white 
men. All the white men were non-tax-payers, and I don't be- 
lieve they were all Democrats; and, in reference to indict- 
ments, it is due to the colored men to state that they acted 
with just as much readiness to find the indictments as the 
white men. They seemed to rise above all feelings of party. 

By the Chairman : 

'Q. Have you ever discovered any disposition on the part of 
the colored Grand Jurors to shield criminals? 

A. I have, in some instances, but it is generally the other 
way. 

Q. Do they differ materially from white men in that respect? 

A. No; I have seen as mucli prejudice on the part of white 
men as on the part of the colored men. 

Bv Ml-. Sullivan : 

'^Q. Do not the colored jurors, petit and grand, seem disposed to 
convict ? 

A. As a general thing, they are as much so as white; but, 
if I were on trial as a white man, I would rather be tried by a 
colored jury than by a white one. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

*^Q. You said that Dr. Shannon went before the Board of Super- 
visors an-d used rude language. Was that language calculated 
to produce hitimidationV 

A. No; 1 don't think it had that effect. I have no idea that 
any man was put on the Grand Jury because the Board was 
afraid. Further, there were two of the jurors that were ab- 
sent, and so the Sheriff had the selection of two, and they 
were his bondsmen. Four, I believe, of the jurors, were his 
bondsmen. 

By Mr. Sullivan : 

'Q. Those two he selected, did they seem to be as desirous of 
convicting as the others? 

A. They did not hesitate; but the truth is, that the evidence 
before the Grand Jury is altogether ex parte; and, on the evi- 
dence given there, it* was almost impossible for any man to 
fail to find an indictment. 

Q. Don't you think that if the Board of Supervisors had 
attempted to maintain its dignity, it would have brought about 
a disturbance? 
In— 4 



30 

A. I don't think so, if the}^ bad done it properlj-. 

Q. Don't 3'on think tliat if they had attempted to have 
arrested any of those men who behaved in that manner before 
the Board, thac their friends would have come to their assist- 
ance and prevented it? 

A. I don't think so. 

Q. Were those men prominent members of the Tax-payers' 
League? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do 3'ou know of an}^ military companies having been or- 
ganized in town, .not authorized by law? 

A. No, T do not. I have no doubt but that there were last 
summer and spring something like military. 

Q. Outside of the regular militia? 

A. Yes; there is no doubt about that; well organized and 
armed. I was not here during the last city election. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. Were you here on the day of the alleged insurrection? 

A. On that Monday, yes. 

Q. Were the people on that day in insurrection? 

A. In one sense, I don't think there was any actual necessitv 
for killing a single human being, and still it is my opinion that 
the people of almost an}- other town in the tlnited States 
would have done as the people here did, considering the cir- 
cumstances. It w-as a surprise to the people. The informa- 
tion came that the colored people w'ere marching into town 
with arms. There was great excitement. 

Q. Do 3'ou think it would have been safe to have allowed any 
large number of colored people to have come in town armed ? 

A. No; I do not think it would have been safe at all. I 
think it would have resulted in the slaughter of the colored 
people, indiscriminately, even in town here, where the colored 
men behaved remarkably well. If they had come in town, 
nobody could tell the result. It was a general scare here. It 
was striking a hornet's nest. 

Q. Was the conduct of the white people here the conduct of 
all? Did both Republicans and Democrats participate in it ? 

A. All of them. Whatever had been their previous differ- 
ences, they all seemed to think that under the circumstances, 
it was their dut}^ to act. 

Q. You did not regard Monday's fight, then as a party fight? 

A. No, sir. The staunchest Republicans were just as earn- 
est as any; and old and cripled as I am, I would have should- 
ered a gun myself to drive them out, if necessary. But the 
fact is, I don't think it was necessary to have killed so many, or 
to have killed one man. 

Q. Do 3'Ou know who opened the fight ? 

A. I do not. There are contradictory reports, and my mind 
never been satisfied as to that. 



31 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. Were you here in the Court-house? 

A. The Court did not open on Monda}'. 

Q. Were you with Judge Brown on Monda}', when Cour 
should have opened? 

A. No; I came here, but the Judge did not appear at all. 

(X Did you see any armed colored men? 

Ar I did not; there were none armed in town that I 
know of. 

Q. Did 3^ou see any armed white men? 

A. Yes, I did. 

Q. Do you know whether there were any colored men killed 
inside of the corporation line? 

A. There may have been. There was one man named Ter- 
min, who was killed beyond the railroad, inside the city limits. 
Whether there were an^^ others killed, I do not know. 

Q. I noticed you said that the colored people inside of the 
city limits were all quiet ? 

A. Yfis, sir. 

Q. Have you any idea what caused that colored man to be 
killed ? 

A. No; I have heard contradictory reports as to that. 

Q. You are satisfied that he was shot? 

A. There is no doubt as to that. He was shot down in the 
street. I have heard contradictory reports; some say that he 
was armed, and some say he was not. 

Q. What street was he killed on? 

A. This street here, Cherry street, beyond the railroad. 

Q. Do 3^ou know whether an^- colored people's houses inside 
of the city's limits were searched for arms? 

A. I don't knew; but I have no doubt of it from what I 
heard. Mr. Davenport's house was undoubtedly searched, be- 
cause it was by searching his house for arms that some of the 
books were found under his house. 

Q. They were searching for arms? 

A. Yes; searching for arms, I understand. 

Q. Do you know any colored people here that had arms 
taken away from them? 

A.. I have heard that they have been taken from a number, 
but I do not know. 

Q. Do you know of any that have been returned ? 

A. No, I. do not. But orders have been given, I understand, 
that they would be returned; but how far that has been done, 
I do not know. 

Q. Do you think that the business men here approve of the 
act of those parties who searched the houses for arms? 

A. I think they condemn it. There is a small number of 
roughs and blackguards, whose delight seems to be in deviltry. 
They get bad whisky in them and run around. I don't think 
they are so much bent upon bloodshed as upon excitement and 
deviltry. 



32 

B}'' Mr. Sullivan : 

Q. Do you know whether the local authorities intend to 
punish these parties? 

A. I spoke to some of the local authorities and told them 
that it was an outrage, and that the parties should be arrested, 
and their names found out. I understand that the Mayor has 
given special instructions to his police to arrest all parties en- 
gaged in those lawless proceedings. I have tried to get the 
names m^-self of these parties, and will institute proceed- 
ings against them myself. J think it is onh' a small number 
of them comparatively. A few bad men can do a great deal of 
mischief. I think the citizens here are provoked that these 
things are done. 

Q. They have not jittempted to assist you in getting their 
names? 

A. Nobody has given me any names; and the parties who 
have been molested have not complained ; Mr. Newton, the 
County Treasurer, told me, yesterday, that on Saturda}'- night, 
during his absence, there was somebod}^ (roughs or boys,) 
came to his house makiug inquiries for him. 

Q. Mr. Newton is a colored man? 

A. Yes; they came to make some lawlessness; I asked 
him if he could give me the names; he said he did not know 
the names; I told him to try to find out, and see whether his 
wife could identify any of them; to ascertain who they were, 
and I would see that steps were taken to bring them to order. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. Do you think it would be safe for him to report their 
names? 

A. I would advise him to do so; a man must take some 
little responsibilit}^ upon himself, and show some little cour- 
age. 

Q. By what authority was Crosby placed in jail? 

A. By no authority at all; they had no right to put him in 
jail; but he remained there a long time, at his own request; 
he considered it safer there than to be out; a good many 
colored men were greatly incensed against Crosby; some of 
the prisoners were revengeful against him, thinking he had led 
them into this trouble. The proceedings of Wednesday were 
wholly illegal, in the action of the people coming up here and 
undertaking to make Crosby resign; it was fragrantly in vio- 
lation of law, and I condemned it as such. Tecluiicall}^, it 
was a mob; but the people acted under great provocation. 

Q. Is it your opinion that Crosby's resignation was made 
u der duress? 

A. Yes; his first resignation; the second resignation, I 
thought, was reall}- a voluntary resignation ; that he had de • 
liberately come to the conclusion that, under all the circum- 
stances, it was no use for him to try to be Sheriff; and I ad- 
vised the Board that it was a prima facie case of a bona Jlde 



33 

resignation, and that, for this reason, it was their duty to re- 
ceive it, and order an election. 

Q. Was there any tax leaguers present when that resignation 
was presented? 

A. No; there were fewer persons present at that meeting 
than there had been at any other; in fact, the military had 
taken special pains to have nobody in or about the Court-house. 
It has been said that the Board was under duress when they 
made that order; I did not think so then, and I do not think 
vso now; the}^ sent for me; I found there present one white and 
two colored; I found them standing in front of the Court- 
house; I went up to them and said: 'Tou sent for me." They 
said: "Yes!" I said: "There is one thing I want to know; 
whether there is any one here that considers himself afraid or 
under any apprehension of danger, or under duress or con- 
straint to do anything but that which his honest conviction re- 
quires him to do? Then I would advise you not to meet at 
all; on the other hand, if j^ou are free to do what you consider 
3'our duty to be under the law, go on." They all stated they 
were there prepared to do their duty according to the law. 

Q. Was it not a called meeting of the Board? 

A. Yes; though a meeting they had been looking forward to a 
long time, to meet in December, to attend to certain matters, 
to decide whether they would order an election to fill the va- 
cancy in the Circuit Clerk's otRce. I told them it was their 
duty; that the office was filled by an oppointee of the Gov- 
ernor; but, owing to the financial embarrassments of the county, 
they postponed action ; in the meantime, Dorsey had got a good 
deal of money out of the treasury. 

Q. Was there any disposition on the part of the tax-payers 
to force them to meet? 

A. There was a disposition on the part of the tax-payers, as 
well as on my part, to induce them to act; and if there is any 
one to blame, it is the Board of Supervisors; if they had met 
promptly and acted promptly, according to law, in regard to 
Peter Crosby's bond, I believe these difficulties would not have 
occurred; I have also thought that it was owing to their neg- 
lect that this thing here was brought about, and I told the 
Board so. 

JUDGE A. H. ARTHUR RECALLED. 

Testimony in chief. 
By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. You are Citv Judge, and live in the City of Vicksburg ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. State whether you were employed by the Board of Su- 
pervisors to investigate the various offices of the county 
officials? 

A. Yes; I was. 

Q. In what position did 3-ou find those offices to be? 



34 

A. Perhaps it may be necessary to repeat what I saw yester- 
day, the first thing the committee of the Board of Super- 
visors desired me to do was to ascertain the indebtedness of 
the county, so as to provide for that iiKlebtedness, and among 
other things they wanted, to know how many jury certiticates 
were issued in the Circuit Clerk's office, that had to be paid out of 
the county treasury ; I had to report to the Board that I could not 
tell them because the stub-books in the Circuit Clerk's office of 
1S72 and 1873 up to September, 1873, were not to be found; they 
then re(piested me to ascertain from the land books of sales of 
forfeited lands, in that office, whether there was anything col- 
lected from the county; I could not find the land -books in 
that office; Judge Brown, of the Circuit Court, at that time 
had taken charge of the Circuit Clerk's office, in consequence of 
the Clerk being in jail; I notified him of thut tact, and he set his 
son to work; and he found the books soon after that in the 
country, in the hands of the Assessor of the county; I could 
not find from those land-books what the Circuit Clerk, Cardozo, 
had collected; there was no, account on those books that he 
had collected anything; it then occurred to me that as some 
of the parties, who had purchased lands and had deeds from him, 
would place it on record in the Chancery Clerk's office, I then 
examined the Chancery Clerk's office, where all the deeds are 
recorded, and I took a list of all the deeds made by the State 
of Mississippi in 1872, 1873 and 1874, whether from the Audi- 
tor of Public Accounts or the Sheriff, or the Clerk of the Cir- 
cuit Court; when I got that list, I looked at the deeds them- 
selves, to see wliich were made by the Auditor, by the Sheriff, 
or b}' the Clerk; there I got a list of the deeds made by Car- 
dozo, while he was in office, and those made by Dorsey while 
he was in office as Circuit Clerk, and I got what had been col- 
lected in that office from the land office; I found out that there 
were other things that I could not find there, that I had to go 
to the Auditor's office to find out; and Judge Lea, the District 
Attorne}^, who also had some of these matters before him, 
asked me to go with him to the Auditor's office to examine the 
records; there we found that Cardozo had made a temporary 
report, a kind of a little sketch of one or two cases; Judge Lea 
has the original papers; while I was examining the Auditor's 
office, ]Mr. Cardozo was making a report; he made a settle- 
ment and report, a copy of which I got; we also examined, at 
tiie request of the District Attorney, all the State witnesses 
certificates, issued by the Circuit Clerk of Warren county, in 
1872, 1873 and 1874; among them we found a great many for- 
geries; and among others, witness certiticates against the State 
of Mississippi, made out by Cardozo in the name of men living 
here in Vicksburg, personally known to me, whose marks were 
made on the back of the certificates, by Cardozo, the Clerk 
himself, who issued them, and who had never been witnesses 
in the case at all. We found others issued b3' Dorsey, who was 
then Clerk, in the names of others living in this town, who 



35 

bad never lived outside of the limits of the town for years, 
charging the State of Mississippi for from one hundred to one 
hundred and eight}^ miles, charging services for traveling, and 
these men are now in town, and have never left the town. I 
could go on and give a great many details, but these are the 
principal things the District Attorney thought he would take, 
and leave the others to be examined hereafter. I can name some 
of these witnesses: Alex. L. Grand, Gillie Smith, citizens here, 
J. H. Swalty, a citiijen of Vicksburg, who lives within two or 
three squares of the Court-house. Judge Lea has the original 
papers; I presume that Judge Lea had that information 
before the Grand Jury. I know these men myself, and I know 
they could write, and I know their handwriting. I think it is 
proper, however, if you think proper, to have them summoned 
yourself. I know they can write. About the amount of busi- 
ness that Judge Lea and mj'self examined. I do not know, 
without referring to my memoranda, that I could state it all; 
after that I went into the Chancery Clerk's office with this 
committee; the committee had the report of the Treasurer 
then before them — the Treasurer's books, and they could not 
<ixactly make it agree with the original report; they got me to 
take hold of it; I looked at the Treasurer's book; it was a 
very long report, and I found that it had been altered on the 
Treasurer's book, and the original report had been altered and 
scratched; I could not understand that at first; I added up the 
columns, and my additions did not agree with those of Mr. 
Axelson, the chairman of the committee of the Supervisors, 
nor with those of the Treasurer; I then asked Mr. Axelson 
what he did with the papers at night when the}" quit work; he 
told me that he left them in the office of the Clerk of the 
Chancery Court; I said then, that I understood it, and it was 
no wonder, for that, when he left at night, and before the next 
morning, there were alterations made, and I showed him; Mr, 
Axelson is a plain man, and he seemed to be ver}' much aston- 
ished, and he got his own memoi'anda, and he saw that they 
did not agree with the figures; he then said to me: "I don't 
want those papers left here any more — you take them and lock 
them up;" 1 told him that I had no place in which to lock 
them; he then told me that he had a certain room in the 
Court-house appropriated to him, and to have these papers 
locked up separately from the papers of the Chancellor's 
office; in the meantime, the Tax-Payers' League commit- 
tee got hold of these papers, and I found that they had 
them; I got them and locked them up in that room; 
In the meantime, I was taken sick, having the key of the box 
where those papers were. The Clerk of the Chancery Court, 
Davenport, then came to my house to get the key of that 
box, where I had those warrants locked up. I told him that 
I could not give him the key; he said that he was taken 
up before Squire Mann, of this city, and it wtxs necessary for 
him to have some papers in there to defend himself; I told 



36 

him to bring INIr. Axelson, the chairman of the committee of 
the Board, and I would give him the key; he said that Mr. 
Axelson lived in the country, and it was necessary to have the 
papers that day; T then told him if it was necessary to have 
them to defend him, I would get out of a sick-bed and get the 
papers he wanted in that box. I did so; came to the Court- 
house, got the papers he said he wanted, and gave them to him 
or his deputy; but they were not necessary for his defense. I 
kept these papers until Mr. Axelson, the chairman of the com- 
mittee, came to my house, and I gave him certain papers I had 
taken out, and told him to deliver them to the District Attor- 
ney. Those warrants and papers aie now in the hands of the 
District Attorney; that box itself, I told Mr. Nelson, the 
Deputy Clerk of the Chancery Court, to take charge of; I 
wanted that box to be in his possession instead of the crowd 
that took charge of the Court-house; I told Axelson to take 
that box in the Chancery Clerk's office, and it is there now. 

Q. Have not Dorsey and Cardozo been indicted by the 
Grand Jury, and were their cases set for trial in the December 
term of Court? 

A. Yes; I have not seen the indictments themselves ; I have 
seen that Cardozo was indicted, and Davenport and Dorsey 
and Perkins, Dorsey's deputy; they were all indicted. 

Q. Was not the December term of Court adjourned in con- 
sequence of the terrors caused by the Tax-payers' League? 

A. I don't know; I was sick ; I saw in the papers that there 
were several meetings of the Tax payers' League; all I know 
is this, that I attended no meeting whatever of tax-payers 
or citizens; I know nothing but what 1 saw in the news- 
papers, and by report; I caught a severe case of pneumonia, 
and was taken down on the morning of the 7th; 1 was sick; 
and when the bells were ringing I told my wife that I wanted 
to go out and see what was the matter, and she would not let 
me go ; on the subject of all this excitement of meetings, and 
of taking charge of the Court house, I really do not know any- 
thing personally; I wish I had been out, I think I could have 
prevented this excitement. In regard to Dorsey, not ou\y a 
large batch of forgeries were paid by the Auditor, but there 
was a large batch that the Auditor absolute'y refused to pay; 
I don't know that it is necessarj' to mention that ; only when 
the Auditor refused, those who had them on hand have pre- 
sented them since. 

Q. Those are the same that Judge Lea has? 

A. Yes ; he has some, and I have some. 

Q. Dorsey was Circuit Clerk? 

A. Yes; he succeeded Cardozo. 

Q. When was he made Clerk? 

A. After the last election, when Cardozo was elected Su- 
perintendent of Education. 

Q. Was he Clerk by election? 



37 

A. Yes; b}' appointment and election too; by election in 
November, and then b\^ appointment of the Governor. 

Q. What time was he appointed Circuit Clerk? 

A. I dont know; he took the office when Cardozo was 
elected Superintendent of Education; there seemed to be some 
doubt, or some trouble about it, as to whether or not he had 
been elected, and Governor Ames had appointed him; and he 
remained Clerk up to the time he was put in jail; then he 
applied to Judge Brown for a writ of habeas corpvs, and the 
question arose before the Judge, whether he had any Clerk to 
act in the case; and they required him to resign before he 
could apply for a writ of habeas corpus. 

Q. Who required him to resign? 

A. 1 don't know; but the question arose, whether Ik could 
apply for a writ of habeas corpus, and also act as Clerk in 
the same case. 

Q. That was Dorsey? 

A. Yes. 

Q. He then resigned? 

A. Yes; in order to let the Judge act upon his writ of habeas 
corpus. 

Q. Then how did he get possession of the office again? 

A. He did not; the Judge then appointed IMr. Short to act 
pro tern.; I happened lo be in the Circuit Clerk's oflfice wdicn 
the habeas corjms act was brought up; young Mr. Brown, the 
son of the Judge, asked him how to niake the order, I told 
him that it was not necessary to appoint a pro tern. Clerk, that 
he was a deput}', and could act; bethought it \vas; Dorsey 
then resigned, and Mr. Short was appointed Clerk pro tem\; 
then Governor Ames appointed Mr. Short afterwards; then, 
having got through with that, I took what was called the Treas- 
urer's docket, necessary to be kept in the Chancery Clerk's 
office, in which I found there were erasures, as I have alread}' 
informed you ; Judge Lea then requested the Treasurer to pro- 
duce his docket, and let me compare the two — the one in the 
Chancery Clerk's office and the one in the Treasurer's office, to 
see how they agreed ; I found that the Treasurer's own docket, 
and the docket in the Chancery Clerk's office both had erasures 
on them, and in the same places, which looked a little singular 
that the Treasurers own docket, and the docket kept in the 
Chancery Clerk's office should both have the same erasures ; 1 
then found that the Treasurer, instead of keeping his own 
docket, was in the habit of bringing his docket up to the 
Chancery Clerk's office, and get the Clerks of the Chancery 
Court to copy the one into the other ; and of course, both 
would have the same errors. 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. State whether the Judge had any knowledge of these 
erasures, whether they were of any importance, or what they 
were, or whether they might not be simply mistakes ? 



38 

A. 1 foniul them to be very important; it attracted my atten- 
tion, and I wanted to see the object of it. 

Q. State what the nature of the erasures were, and what 
their effects were. 

A. If you will send down in tiie Treasurer's office and get 
the books from Nelson, the warrant-book, the register and the 
stub-books, 1 will show 3'ou the importance of it. These two 
books I spoke of, the Treasurer's docket, belonging to the Chan- 
cery Clerk's office, and the Treasurer's own docket, the night 
after the Grand Jury brought in their bill, were taken awa}- ; 
the room was broken into and these two dockets were taken, 
and they have never been found since; when these two Treas- 
urer's books were stolen, I told Judge Lea, the District Attor- 
ney, that there were books in the office that ought to be se- 
cured, for fear that they might be stolen also— books that 
would corroborate those that were taken awa}^; he immedi- 
ately sent tor those books, and took just such memoranda as 
I want to show .you. that were in the book^; the}^ were books 
that were necessary to be used in the office, and after taking 
the necessary memoranda, he returned them to the office to be 
used there; the next I heard of those books, they were pre- 
sented to me as having been found at Davenport's house, in 
the cellar; the general rumor was, that they w^ere the two 
books stolen when the room was broken open ; but I told them 
they were not; they were the books left in the Clerk's office ; 
the register, however was found; T have some memoranda; 
l)erhaps I can explain some of these things to you without the 
books ; here are some memoranda taken from the books that 
were stolen, that the books in the office will corroborate; I 
found one number on page 69 ot the Treasurer's book, where 
two figures of the number were scratched out, and it appeared 
there as No. 48 on the Treasurer's docket, in favor of Geo. W. 
Davenport, for $10; the number and the date and amount hav- 
ing been all changed; I found b3'the register, itself, in the office, 
that instead ol No. 48 it should have been No. 4489, for $100; 
that was from the register itself, according to his own work; 
he had scratched that out, and he had marked there that it had 
not been issued at all; then the Treasurer's book showed that 
it iiad been paid, and the Treasurer's book was altered to show 
a different amount and a different date ; now. there is another, 
No 49S on the book, in favor of Geo. W. Davenport for $10, 
that should be No. 4408, for $!< 0, exactly in the same position 
as tiie other, marked by the Clerk as scratched out; then there 
is No. 496, in favor of Geo. W. Davenport, for $10, should bo 
No. 4496, for $100; then No. 497, in favor of Van Beek, Tins- 
ley (Sz Co., for use of Geo. W. Davenport, for $10, should be 
No. 4497, for $100; I found another. No. 20, in favor of Geo. 
W. Davenport, for $5, it should be No. 220, for $25; another, 
marked No. 21, in favor of Geo. W. Davenport, for $5, should 
have been No. 221, for $25. 



39 

Q. The warrants, you say, were marked so and so on the 
stub-book, and should be for larger amounts? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Why do you say they should be so? 

A. Because the Treasurer, when he paid the warrants, put it 
on his docket. Then, I found one marked No. 22, in favor of 
Geo. W. Davenport, for $5 00, that should be No. 222, for 
$25 GO; another one, No. 52, in favor of Geo. W. Davenport, 
for $10 00, should be No. 252, for $50 00; and No. 54, in favor 
of Geo. W. Davenport, for $10 00, should be No. 254, for 
$50 00. This one here, the stub-book, is one of the books 
found in Davenport's cellar; it is not necessary to be kept in 
the office, but is kept for his own convenience; the numl3ers, 
from No. 4488 to No. 4498, according to this, he never used. 

Q. Have you ever asked Davenport as to his explanation of 
this? 

A. Yes. 
• Q. What was his explanation? 

A. I asked him in regard to this here: Here is No. 219, and 
the next number is No. 228; there are two sheets cut out, and I 
Jisked Davenport for an explanation as to that; he said he did 
not know, unless it was that he cut out one of these sheets to 
give to the Pilot office to print from; I told him that he need 
not have cut out two sheets; I then told him that there was 
another sheet cut out, and thnt instead of cutting out in the 
middle of the book he could have cut at the end; he could not 
give any explanation; then, when I came to examine the 
'rreasurer's book, I found that these numbered warrants, from 
No. 220 to 28, hatl been paid by the Treasui-er. 

Q. Do you knov/ who they were paid to, or in whose names? 

A. I took that down from the Treasurer's book ; then, again, 
J found No. 23, in favor of Davenport, for $5 00, should be 
No. 223, for $25 00. 

Q. Do I understand you to say, that $25 00 was paid hy the 
Treasurer instead of $5 GO. 

A. Yes ; the Treasurer paid 625 00, and the number was 
altered on the stub book, so as to make it appear as though 
the warrant was drawn only for five dollars; then, here is No. 
247, and the next number on the book is No. 256 — eight num- 
bers cut out — two sheets, making just eight warrants; now, I 
found in the Treasurer's book, No. 241, Geo, W. Davenport, 
$50 00; here the number only was changed; it should be No. 
247, for $50 00; then. No. 52, Geo. W. Davenport, $10 00, 
should be No 252, for $50 00; No. 54, Geo. W. Davenport, 
$10 00, should be No. 254, for $50 00; No. 50, Geo. W. Daven- 
port, $10 00, should be No. 250, for $50 00; and some of these 
warrants, Nos. 248 and 249, were paid by tlie Treasurer in 
favor of a member of the Board of Supervisors, Mr. Hunt; 
No. 251 was standing out somewhere, not paid; it was held by 
a man named French, and the District Attorney has got that. 

Q. Mr. Davenport had sold it to somebod}^ probably ? 



40 

A. It was sold to the Freedmen's Bank; those three war- 
rants were actuolly in existence, two of them actually paid by 
the Treasurer, and Judge Lea has the other; there are other 
changes; there is one warrant here that, perhaps, was changed 
twice; and, strange to say, after having been paid twice, we 
have the warrant still outstanding, and Judge Lea has that; I 
found it once on the Treasurer's book as No. 5, two figures 
having been scratched out; I found that on page 154, of the 
Treasurer's book, in favor of C. W. Bush for ^5, should be No. 
405, for $75; I found it in another place, page 159, where the 
figure live was scratched out, in favor of Charles W. Bush, for 
$5, should be No. 405, for $75; it appears in two ditferent set- 
tlements of the Treasurer; and the warrant, itself, we have now. 

Q. P^vtr}' time these warrants were taken up through the 
Treasurer, they should have been burnt? 

A. I heard thev were doiu" it in the old Board; and the new 
Board followed the example of the old; I begged then not to 
do it; I found a good many that were actuall}' taken up and 
supposed to iiave been burnt; and I found them in succeeding 
settlements of the Treasurer; and thej^ were supposed to have 
been burnt again, and still the warrants ai'e in existence. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q What did the aggregate frauds in that office amount to ? 

A. I have not summed it up; before I got through, this ex- 
citement was got up; and the two books were carried away. 

Q. They were taken hy whom ? 

A. That I don't know. 

Q. Were they stolen ? 

A. Yes; the drawers were broken open. 

Q. In whose charge were the two books that are missing ? 

A. In charge of the committee of the Board of Supcvisors, 
and they told me to lock them up; I did not take the books 
out; I had no right to; I left them in a room with two locks 
on the drawers; and the night after the indictment was found 
against Davenport, these two books were taken off; when that 
occurred, I told them that he Register book might be taken, 
too; and then I took memoranda from this book; this warrant, 
No. 405, in favor of Ciiarles W. Bush, for $75, appears, by 
memorandum of Davenport on the stub-book, to have been 
canceled; and still tlie warrant was paid by the Treasurer, and 
is still out; I asked him about that, and li<e told me that that 
warrant was never issued, and he had marked it as made out in 
error, and that he had filed it away; [ thought he had filed it 
away; it astonished me when I found that iL had been paid twice 
by the Treasurer, when the Clerk had marked it here as not 
having been issued at all. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. Who was Daven[)ort's deputy? 

A. He had a half a dozen; Nelson, the present deputy, was 



41 

with him, and young George Walton, and a 3^oung man named 
Temple, and a man named Hall — P. C. Hall: he had so man^-, 
I don't know them all; Mr. Nelson is his present deputy; Mr. 
Davenj)ort kept this book himself. 

Q. Cannot Nelson give any explanation of that? 

A. No; Nelson had nothing to do with that; this stub- book 
shows what the warrants were issued for; this is copied into 
the register. 

Q. He refers to the proceedings of the Board in December; 
do yon think those proceedings would give any explanation? 

A. I asked him to go with me there, but we could not find 
anj^ such proceedings; then he wrote this after that; then, 
when I found the warrant, I went to him a second time, and 
said to him: " Let us see; may be 3'ou have made an acciden- 
tal mistake." But we could not find it; that line in the regis- 
ter book was not there at the time; he put it in after that. 

Q. How is it that No. 410 and No. 411, each for $50, appear 
to have been issued in place of No. 406, which is a wai'rant for 
only .i;75? 

A. That is exactly the way it appears; No. 406, in favor of 
Charles W. Bush, for $75, is said to have been canceled, and 
No. 410 and 411 to have been issued in place of it, and these 
two together, make $1G0; then here is No. 405, that is marked 
canceled, and it is marked "paid" on the Treasurer's book; it 
is for S75, and indorsed " Chas. W. Bush, by Geo. W. Daven- 
port." Bus!), I understand, said he was sick, and authorized 
Davenport to sign his name; but certainly, Davenport could 
not collect it twice; and there are half a dozen down here in- 
dorsed b3' Davenport for Bush. 

Q. You know nothing about the riot, T suppose? 

A. Really, I do not; I was sick on the day of the riot; I 
told my wife that I wanted to go to town and see what was the 
matter; she would not let me go before it got warm; and be- 
fore it got warm, it was too late. 
By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. Did you see any colored people going out on that day? 

A. Yes; I saw more going out than coming in. 

Q. Did you see any of the colored men having arms? 

A. No, sir; I never saw one of them with arms; I went in 
sight of the city, about a mile from m}- house; whether the\^ 
had any arms or not, I do not know; the Board of Supervisors 
appointed a committee, themselves, to investigate the county 
offices, before the Tax-Payers' League; but they emplo^yed me 
after the Tax-Payers' League had appointed their committee. 

Tiie committee adjourned till 10 o'clock, a. m., to-morrow, 
December 31, 1874. 



42 

FOURTH DAY. 

ViCKSBURG, December 31, 1874. 

The Committee met pursuant to adjournment. 
All the members present. 

PETER CROSBY 

Being duly sworn, says: 
Examination in chief. 

Q. What is your occupation? 

A. Sheriff of Warren county. 

Q. When were 3'ou elected to that office? 

A. On the 4th of November, 1873. 

Q. State when 3'ou gave your last bond as Sheriff, and the 
reasons wiiy 3^ou were compelled to give a new bond. 

A. I gave my last bond some time in October; I don't re- 
member the exact date. 

Q. State why you had to give it. 

A. I had made a bond before, and one of the sureties on 
that bond died, and his widow afterwards applied to be re 
lieved from the bond; I agreed, and as it has always been the 
practice in the county to have another man put in his place as 
surety, in such cases, I had that done; then, sometime after 
the bond had been accepted, with this surety' substituted, some 
weeks afterwards, they got an opinion of the District Attor- 
nc}^, that that would not do, and that I had to give an entirely 
new bond, and I proceeded to do so. 

Q. The Board of Supervisors ordered you to give a new 
bond in October ? 

A. Yes. 

Q, Was it accepted and approved by the Board of Super 
visors ? 

A. Yes; I don't remember the date exactly. 

Q. About what time ? 

A. About the 2?th of Oc'tober. 

Q. You made a new bond in accordance with that order ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. State ever^'thing in connection with the recent troubles 
between yourself and the Tax-Paj^ers' League, in this town. 

A. I am not prepared to state everj'thing just now; I can 
state some things; after I had filed my last bond, and it had 
been accepted b}- the Board of Supervisors, and pronounced 
good, there was a surety on the bond, Mr. Yerger; and Dr. 
Shannon and some of the tax-pa3'er8 agreed to consider the 
solvency or insolvenc3' of Mr. Yerger, and the Board did not 
meet as earl^'^ as expected; there was a meeting called twice, 
and there was no quorum; then, afterwards, on the '2d of De- 
cember, the Board was to meet, and they called a large meeting 
of all the tax-papers (3kf the count3'; that was on the 2d of 



43 

December; prior to that time, I tliink on tlie 27tb of Novem- 
ber, they held a meeting at which, by their published proceed- 
ings, they were to hold a meeting on Wednesda}', and they 
shonld have those officers, including the members of the Board 
of Supervisors, the Clerks, Sheriff, Coroner and Justices of the 
Peace, of this county, to resign. 

Q. State what occurred on the 2d of December, 

A. I speak now of the primary meeting, before the 2d of De- 
cember: this was the time their published proceedings show that 
their intention was to get the resignation from these officers; 
then, on the 2d of December, after their usual deliberations, 
they appointed a committee of ten to wait on me and the 
Clerks. 

Q. Give the names of the members of that committee. 

A. I have a list of the names, but not here. 

Q. Give some of the names. 

A. J. D. Beaird was chairman, and Doctor Hebron, Doctor 
Shannon, A. M. Paxton, George Peine, W. E. Gibson, and 
George Barnes were members; I think these are as many as T 
can remember now. 

Q. What did they call on you to do ? 

A. They called on me to demand m}^ resignation; I asked 
them to give me the charges, or the reasons why the}' demanded 
it; they said they were not instructed to make any charges, 
but to demand that I should resign; I told them that I knew 
of no reason why 1 should resign; and I refused to comply 
with their request; later in the evening, about two or three 
o'clock, I was busily engaged with my business in the office, 
and I discovered large bodies of men comino- from the East 
and West, and coming up all around the Court-house; and in 
a few minutes the office was entireh' surrounded; they began 
to come in the office, walking outside and inside where I was, 
and the office became crowded full; at this time, Mr. Peine 
acted as spokesman^ and he told me that the people had just 
got tired of my being Sheriff of the count}', and that I could 
not be Sheriff of the count}' an hour longer ; that was Charles 
Peine; by this time, men began to pour in through the win- 
dows of my office, and right over the desk and on the inside 
where I was; and the office became as full of men as they 
could stand there ; then j^oung Mr. Marshall^ Martin Marshall, 
who was standing outside of the desk, gave tVv-o or three 
screams — " that six hundred men couldn't stand here and parley 
with Crosby; they came to get his resignation, and they have 
got to have it;" then, at this juncture, just at this time, several 
men came through the windows, and some of these men I 
knew to be characteristic for shooting, and I came to 'he con- 
clusion that 1 had to look out; that their idea was to provoke 
me to do or to say some words that the\ could take up ; and, I 
being alone there with only one deput}', 1 said to Mr. Peine, 
"I will sign your paper^ but I want 3'ou to understand that, as 
far as I am concerned^ It is done under protest, and it amount?. 



44 

to nothing with me;' immediately, then, they called for J. D. 
Bi'aird to take possession of the office; he took possession of 
the olfice, and I went, immediately, to Jackson; and I reported 
the facts, just what had happened, to the Governor and State 
officers; 1 returned again, on Friday, to my office, and attempted 
to discl-arge the duties of the office; the cit}' police force had 
charge of the Court-house and of the county property 
and jail; and one of the policemen, from the tower of the 
Court house, gave the alarm; and the town bells began to ring 
to bring up their crowd again; that was on Friday evening; 
seeing that the}' were about to bring about a collision between the 
people here and my friends, I got into a carriage and v/ent 
down to Judge Brown's, whei'e I had before sent a notice that 
I was b:.ick and ready to receive his communication; and I 
told liim that I had returned, and wanted to goto work, and if 
he had any business of Court to be attended to, I was read}^ to 
go to work; then I came back again, and Dr. Shannon, R. B. 
Bootii, J. D. Beaird, E. B. Richardson, and a number of other 
persons, whose names I do not recollect now, were at the gate 
of the Court-house; there vvas a large bodj^ of colored men 
also, and words began to pass between them; anyhow, Mr. 
Booth, R. B. Booth, approached the hack which I was in, and 
said that I should nut have anj^thing more to do with the 
Sheriff's office, and to let the Board of Supervisors meet; I 
was also urged by Dr. Shannon and Richardson in the same 
manner; I told them that I was Sheriff of the county, and I 
had my business to carry on, and in order to do my business 
as Sheriff I had to have possession of my office; then Mr. 
Beaird replied that I could do my business l\y Calvin Chavis, 
my deputy; that he might serve papers; I think that m^' re- 
mark, in reply, was that the servant was not greater than the 
master; that I was Sheriff', and that he was only deput}^; from 
this time, then, they commenced to raise a row, and the ex- 
citement grew higher,and rather than to have a row on the street, 
and. in order to avoid that, I drove my hack down the street, 
where I met Mr. Cline and Mr. Hunt and other citizens; and 
tliey proceeded to make arrangements by which 1 could 
make another bond; I proceeded to make these arrangements 
to make another bond, if the Board of Supervisors should so 
order it; knowing that the Board was to meet on Monda}'', I 
liad positive information from the Judge, and as I could not 
have possession of my office, and the property of the count}'' 
not being in my possession or custody, I ap[)lied to the Mayor 
of tlie city of Vicksburg for the assistance of his police force in 
trying to keep the peace of the county, and to allow me to go 
on with my business ; having failed in these things, I naturally 
summoned a j^osse. 

Q. You sutnmoned a posse. 

A. Yes; before tliat posse could reach their destin}^, they 
were met by an armed bod}' of men, and a light ensued; what 
occurred at that fight I don't know; but early on Monday 



45 

morning I was taken prisoner, and was kept a prisoner until 
the 16th of December. 

Q. What was the date of that Monday, when 3^011 were taken 
prisoner ? 

A. The 7th of December; and I was kept a prisoner until 
the J 6th. 

Q. You have stated that 3^ou saw Mr. Cline and Mr. Hunt 
and others in relation to giving a new bond, if so ordered by 
the Board of Supervisors ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Has the Board of Supervisors ever ordered 3'ou to give a 
new bond ? 

A. No ; this same Monday I wanted to be prepared to give 
a new bond in case it should be required. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. By what authority were 3^ou held a prisoner ? 

A. I don't know, sir; I was held b3^ order of Col. Miller. 

B3" the Chairman : 

Q. You found that 3'ou were powerless to perform your duties 
as Sheriff, and called upon ?i posse, as 3^ou thought \'OU had a 
right to do under the law, to assist you ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did 3^0 u call upon any particular class of men to come 
here ? 

A. I called upon the Ma3'or and police force, who were all 
white citizens, and met with no assistance, and then I called 
upon the citizens on the outskirts of the town. 

Q. You called upon the citizens of the count3' ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did 3'ou call upon them for an3^ other purpose than to 
assist you in the performance of 3'our legitimate duties ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did 3^ou anticipate that there would be an3' bloodshed 
when 3'ou called upon those citizens ? 

A. No; I did not; I saw there was an armed body of men 
here to assist them, and I demanded that they should disperse. 

Q. Y''()u would not have resorted to force with your 790556 ? 

A. No, I would not, provided it had resulted in a general 
uprising of the people. 

Q. Did 3"ou suppose, when you called upon the people to 
come to your assistance, that it would result in causing the 
opposition to 3^ou as Sheriff, to cease ? 

A. I supposed so; I thought if I called upon the jyosse to 
aid and assist me in the discharge of m3^ duties, as I thought 
I had a right to do, that the intelligent men here would have 
respected that po55e, and would have desisted without bringing 
on an3' conflict. 

Q. When 3'ou called upon the citizens to come to 3'Our assist- 
ance, did vou instruct them to come armed ? 
In— 5 



46 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did 3'ou instruct them to come at any particular time, or 
to come immediately ? 

A. I instructed them to come on Monday morning. 

Q. At the time the Circuit Court was to open ? 

A. Yes; to come and aid me in the discharge of my duties 
as Sheriff. 

Q. When you proposed to make a new bond, if the Board of 
Supervisors should so order, did any of the Tax-Payers' 
League inform 3'ou that you could not make a new bond, and 
that you should not be Sheriff of the county ? 

A. No ; none informed me of that, except in a conversation be- 
tween myself and Col. Miller, in reference to this matter, and 
Gen. Wirt Adams; and in that conversation they wanted me to 
make a bond^ under a compromise; that I would turn over the 
office to some man they should suggest, to run the ofKce; 
during that conversation. Gen. Adams told me that it was the 
only thing that could be done, and if that was not done, that, 
by God, those men proposed to execute every one of those 
officers; he said that was the only thing that could be done to 
give an}' satisfaction, and if that could not be done, those men 
were mad, and would execute every one of those officers. 

Q. What did 3'ou understand him to mean from that ? 

A. I understood him to mean, that they should have their 
way, and that that was the only yv&y that they wanted ; and if 
thej^ could not get that, they would hang the officers. 

Q. Did you understand at that, time, that Col. Miller and 
Gen. Adams were members of the Tax-Payers' League, and rep- 
resented the sentiments of that body? 

A. No, sir; they both told me that they did not belong to 
the Tax Payers' League ; and that the}'^ were opposed to the pro* 
ceedings had on that Wednesday. 

Q. State what you know about the killing that occurred on 
Monday, the 7th of December? 

A. I know nothing except what I heard ; I was here in this 
room (in the Court house), and I could not state from my 
own knowledge, who was killed and who was not ; I was taken 
prisoner here. 

Q. You were in prison at the time the fighting was going on? 

A. Yes ; I was here when Andrew Owens came in; Dr. 
Hunt brought him in with Capt. Cowan; he came right to this 
door, here; and Dr. Hunt said to me: "Owens said, that you 
ordered him to come here, and that he was not to go back un- 
less you so ordered ;" I said to Owens then: " It is no use to 
raise a fuss," ixud I told him to disperse his men, and that the}' 
had better go home; then, when he started from the door, Dr. 
Hunt asked him whether he would do so, if he would go there 
and obey my orders and send his men home ; and Owens said, 
yes, he would do it if he desired ; what action took place out- 
side I did not see. 

Q. Do you regard Col. Miller and Gen. Adams as being more 



47 

moderate in their views, politically, and more competent to ad- 
vise under such circumstances than the members of the Tax- 
Payers' League ? 

A. I look upon them as very fair men. 

Q. State under what circumstances you tendered your resig- 
nation the second time as Sheriff of Warren county? 

A. On the 8th of this month, December, Col, Miller ap- 
proached me in the Court-room, and said to me, that a great 
number of men were lying dead around here, and that I was 
the cause of it ; and that my continuation as Sheriff would 
lead to confusion and bloodshed, and that I had better resign; 
I told him that I had paid my deputies high wages and kept 
up my business, and that I did not see how I could resign and 
do justice to myself, and, besides, that I had not done anything 
contrary to law, and that I felt myself competent to cany on 
the duties of the office; a few more words took place, and I 
told him that I should not resign the office; during that con- 
versation he told me that he had just told Col. Packer and O. 
S. Lee that I wanted to resign the office; and he said: "that is 
the only way that this matter can be settled up, and I want a defi- 
nite answer right now; I have staid here all night and protected 
you from violence, and I cannot do it any longer;" I replied, 
that I could not resign the office; he then went to the far end 
of the Court-house, in the Grand Jury room, where CoL Packer 
was ; there Col. Miller, John A. Cline, W. H. McCardle, J. J. 
Cowan and Wm. French — I think tiiere were more, but these 
are all I can remember — were holding a consultation for some 
time; and then they came out again, and called me to have a 
private interview with CoL Packer and Mn Lee ; I went in to 
see them, and about the same conversation passed between 
Col. Packer, Mr. Lee and myself, as between myself and Col. 
Miller ; after which. Gen. Packer said to me : " It is no use 
talking about this matter ; it is no use to hang on about this 
resignation ; you have either to sign this document, or you 
cannot live twenty-four hours if you do not sign it ; they have 
just had a conversation with me in which they state boldly 
that, unless you resign that office, and that resignation is ac- 
cepted by the Board of Supervisors, they cannot protect you, 
and you cannot live ; and that if Governor Ames was to start 
State troops or United States troops here, before they can get 
here you will be killed, and it is no use to put your life in 
danger ;" upon the representation of these facts, and from 
men that I regarded as m}' personal friends, as well as political 
friends, I signed my resignation. 

Q. Who did you'^understand Col. Packer to mean when he 
said tkey? 

A. The Tax-Payers' League; the men who had forced them- 
selves in. 

Q. Did you consider that your life depended on your sign- 
ing the second resignation? 

A. Yes; I regarded it so. 



48 

Q. What did you do after you signed j'our second resigna- 
tion ? 

A. I did not have a chance to do anything; I was in prison. 

Q. You were in prison when 3'ou signed your second resig- 
nation? 

A. Yes; and that evening I was in prison here in the Court- 
house. 

Q. Were you under guard? 

A. Yes; I was under guard. 

Q. In the Court-house? 

A. Y^'es; and that evening I was taken out under guard and 
carried to the county jail; I remained there from tlie Sth to 
the I6U1 of December, under guard; and then I was taken to 
the train and sent to the city of Jackson. 

Q. Who guarded you to the train? 

A. Colonel French, Judge Lea, Eugene Piatt, and Casper P. 
Hunt. 

Q. Were any of the gentlemen you just named, members of 
the Tax-Payers' League, or did you understand them to be? 

A. No; I don't think any of them are; may be that Mr. 
French is; I don't know about him; I am not certain about 
him. 

Q Where have you been since that day ? 

A. I have been in the city of Jackson. 

Q. Have you since attempted to exercise the duties of the 
office of Sheriff? 

A. I have not been here ; I intended to exercise my duties 
through m}' deputies; that was the only way; on the 16th of 
December, just before I started for Jackson, they took and 
served an injunction on me, enjoining me from exercising the 
duties of my office; that injunction has not been dissolved. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. When the committee first waited on you, did you promise 
to give them an answer in half an hour? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. When they demanded your resignation, was nothing said 
about your bond? 

A. No, sir ; they gave no reasons. 

Q. Have you ever been told by white men and tax-pa^'^ers 
here, that if you would give a good bond you could hold the 
office peaceably and qnietl}' ? 

A. I don't know that I have ; I havn been told that that was 
the only objection ; and I have often told them that if it was 
decided that I had no good bond, I would make it good — give 
a good bond. 

Q. When j^ou went to Jackson and reported to Governor 
Ames, what instructions did he give you ? 

A. He gave me no instructions. 

Q. He gave you none ? 



49 

A. He said he was powerless to do anything; that I was able 
to do as much as he could, under the law. 

Q. Did you not consult the Attorney General of the State ? 

A. I spoke to him. 

Q. Did you not get his legal advice as to summoning a possef 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did Governor Ames advise you to summon a posse? 

A. No; he said I had the law, and I had as much power as 
he had, and that I had really more power than he had. 

Q. Did you circulate a card, and have it printed, for the pur- 
pose of summoning a posse? 

A. No, sir; I had a card printed, but it was not for the pur- 
pose of summoning a posse. 

Q. What was the purpose of that card ? 

A. I was in Jackson, and I instructed the card to be 
printed. 

Q. Who wrote the card ? 

A. A private individual; I am responsible for the card. 

Q. You approve the card ? 

A. I am responsible for it. 

Q. Was not that card written and circulated for the purpose 
of bringing Republicans into town on that Monday ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You say you summoned them to come here on Monday; 
how did you summon them ,? 

A. I sent one man, Owens, to summon them. 

Q. Did you make him your special deputy for that purpose ? 

A. Not in writing. 

Q. Did you deputize any one else for the same purpose ? 

A. No; I did not; but t spoke to Mr. Stith about summon- 
ing Si posse ; he is a Justice of the Peace. 

Q. you sa}^, you summoned some white citizens; name some 
white citizens that 3^ou summoned. 

A. I spoke to the Mayor of the city, and asked him whether 
I could rely upon his services and that of his police force, in 
order to enforce the law of the State; and he gave me no 
answer that I could depend upon; I considered it equivalent 
to a refusal. 

Q. You say, then, that you did not formally summon any 
citizens of Vicksburg to assist you in regaining possession of 
3'our office ? 

A. No; in fact, I did not know who to summon, because 
there were about six hundred white citizens who were opposing 
me; and that, I thought, was about the number in the city of 
Vicksburg, 

Q. You say you would not have resorted to force to regain 
possession of your office, if you had thought it would bring 
on a conflict. 

A. No; I would not have resorted to force. 

Q. Why did you not think it necessary to use force ? 

A. Well, it occurred to me that the intelligent citizens here, 



50 

lawyers and respectable citizens, would 'submit; I did not 
think it possible that intelligent citizens here, and law3'ers, 
would go out and oppose a Sheriff's posse. 

Q. Do you know in what way the law requires you to sum- 
mon a posse? 

A. I don't know that there is any particular form. 

Q. Don't the}' have to be summoned individually, b}' your- 
self or your ileputy, each individual? 

A. No; I think the law gives me the right to call upon the 
power of the count}-; that in case of riot or unlawful assembly 
I should go and take in the power of the count}^; there is no 
form that I know of. 

Q. In your card did 3^ou call on the citizens to support you, 
or on the Republicans to support j^ou ? 

A. I did not call on anybody to support me. 

Q. Don't 3'our card say Republicans ? 

A. My card was to the Republicans, but that was not for 
the purpose of calling citizens out to support me in regaining 
possession of my office. 

Q. Did you notify any white citizen of Vicksburg that you 
had summoned sl posse to reinstate 3^ou in office on the 7th of 
December ? 

A. I don't: know that I did. 

Q. Did any of the State officers see your card in Jackson 
before it left you ? 

A. None that I know of. 

Q. Did you tell any person after you were set at libert}^ that 
you had resigned in good faith ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did you not tell any one after j^ou went to Jackson that 
you did not want to have the office of Sheriff" any more ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did you intimate in an}^ way that j'ou did not consider 
3'ourselt Sheriff any more ? 

A. No, sir; not that I know of. 

Q. You say 3'ou have been exercising j^our duties here as 
Sheriff, through a deputy, recently ? 

A. Yes; such as I could exercise. 

Q. If you were enjoined, how can you exercise the duties of 
your office through a deputy, an}^ more than in person ? 

A. The business around the Court-house that is to be looked 
after; that is the only thing; taking care of m}' books and 
papers; the injunction don't prevent me from taking care of 
them. 

Q. Has Governor Ames ever advised 3-ou to ;esign ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You said you were kept confined from the 7th to the 16th 
of December. Were you conlined any portion of that time at 
your own request in order to be protected ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Were you kept against your will the whole of that time ? 



51 

A. Yes; I was put in prison and kept there against my will; 
but I was led to believe by citizens outside — it was held up to 
me — that should I come out, I would be in danger of some 
great bodily harm. 

Q. Still you desired to go out ? 

A. I desired to have my liberty. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Do you believe that if 3'ou gave full and complete testi- 
mony in regard to all matters pertaining to the insurrection in 
this count}', that your life would be safe ? 

A. No. sir; it would be in danger ; it would be dangerous 
for a man to give full testimony. 

Q. Were any attempts made on your life while j'Ou were in 
custody ? 

A. Yes ; that is, I was taken out here on Monday evening 
and carried down about half way between the front part of 
the Court-house and the steps, by two men, who were armed 
with shot-guns. 

Q. Were there any others assisting them ? 

A. Two or three; one in front, and the others behind ; and 
there were five or six around as guards ; and when I got down 
there, about half-way between the Court-house and the steps, 
I looked behind, over my shoulder, and there was a man draw- 
ing his gun as though he was going to shoot me in the back; 
then Jim Faucet caught the gun, and said to him: "You 
can't do anything of that kind ; this man is a prisoner, and it 
would be a cr^-ing shame for humanit}'- to shoot a prisoner." 
At that time Col. Miller and G. F. Pegram came from toward 
the jail, and Mr. Horace Miller demanded to know what was 
the matter, and why they had me out ; and asked who took 
me out. I did not understand the man's name ; but he said 
to him: "You had no right to take him out;" and he called 
Captain Pegram and told him to take charge of me, and to do 
me no bodily harm. 

Q. Was there any other attempt made on 3'ou ? 

A. There was an attempt made during the night ; at least I 
am led to believe it; but that I did not see; a ladder was 
brought to get up here ; who made the attempt, I don't 
know, but Col. Miller told me on Tuesday morning that had 
it not been for his presence, that a company, commanded by 
Captain Hogan, would have come up the steps, and they would 
have killed me; taken me out of the Court house and hung 
me. 

Q. Did you summon a posse for any other purpose but that 
of fulfilling the requirements of the law, in assisting you to 
regain possession of your office ? 

A. No, sir. ' 

Q. What reason did the party who demanded your resigna- 
tion, give you for the demand ? 

A. They declined to give any; I demanded to know the 
reason. 



52 

Q. Were ^'^ou not negotiating with certain citizens for the 
purpose of having your bond made good, when 3'our resigna- 
tion was demanded by a committee of Tax Leaguers or citi- 
zens ? 

A. I was negotiating to make a bond, and could have given 
a good bond on Tuesday morning, if it had been so ordered by 
the Board of Supervisors; but during the time I was negotiat- 
ing, one of my friends told me that he had had a talk with 
Captain Cowan, in which Captain Cowan told him that any 
white man who would go on Peter Crosby's bond, his life 
would not be as safe as Crosby's; that they proposed to have 
that office. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. Did I understand 3'ou to say that you would not have 
summoned this posse if you had thought it would briig on a 
fight ? 

A. If I had thought that it would have been such a fight as 
it was, I would not have done it. 

Q. If you did not summon the po"?5e for the purpose of re- 
instating you in office, what did 3'ou issue it for ? 

A. I have stated, time and again, that I summoned it for 
that purpose. 

Q. If you thought it would take all the Republicans in the 
county to reinstate you, did you expect them to do it by 
moral force of numbers, or by fighting ? 

A. I did not propose to bring on any fight; I expected that 
the moral force of numbers would be sufficient, with intelli- 
gent people, to reinstate me in my oflice. 

Q You stated that you did not issue that card with a view 
of summoning a ^0556 ? 

A. I did not issue it for that purpose ? 

Q. What, then, was the object of issuing that card ? 

A. The object was merely to set m3^self right before the 
people. 

Q. What did you say in that card ? 

A. A good man}' things were said in It; there was more of 
sarcasm and bitter language used in that card than — 

Q. Against whom ? 

A. Against the men who putme out. 

Q. It was a kind of a denunciatory card ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Against the Democrats ? 

A. Yes; against the men who had forced me to resign with- 
out cause. 

Q. You don't mean to say against the men who had forced 
you to resign, bnt against the men who had forced you to ten- 
der your resignation ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Then the object of the card was onlj' denunciation ? 

A. Yes; and alter that card was written, I had it read to 



53 

me, but I did not pay much attention, and I had no idea of 
the severity of the card. 

Q. Yet you are responsible for it ? 

A. Yes: I am responsible for it. 

Q. If you had written it yourself, would you have written it 
as severe as it is ? 

A. I don't think so. 

Q Don't you think that card was calculated to excite your 
opponents ? 

A. I think it was. 

Q. You also, in that same card, call upon the Eepublicans to 
come to your support ? 

A. No; not particularl}'. 

Q. Do you know whether that card was read on Sunday 
from the pulpits in the count}^ or not ? 

A. I have been told that it was; I don't know whether it was 
or not. 

Q. By the ministers of the gospel ? 

A. I have been told it was read. 

Q. Did you leave Vicksburg on Saturday night, and go in 
the country ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. The night before what you term the riot on Monday ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You were not in the country on that Sunday at all ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Nor on Sunday night ? 

A. I was in the country a piece on Sunday night. 

Q. How far did you go ? 

A.. At Point Lookout, where I went with Col. Packer. 

Q. That visit was on official business ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. In connection with this posse ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Who did you go there to see ? 

A. I went there to see Mr. Ben. Allen, and told him to tell 
Owens, if he should come there in the morning, that excite- 
ment was brewing, running very high at that time, and that it 
seemed almost impossible to avoid a fight, and to tell Owens 
not to bring his men in town; then Col. Packer and myself 
went to see if we could not get five horses to send men out, so 
that we might stop the people from coming here; and we sum- 
moned five men. 

Q. At what time did you instruct those men from the country 
to be here ? What time in the morning were they to come ? 

A. About this time ; between nine and ten o'clock. 

Q. Was there any understanding that there should be any 
concert of action, by the diflerent commands, on the difierent 
roads ? 

A. No. 

Q. Were you advised in any waj*, that P. C. Hall, Captain of 



54 

a militia compan}^ had been ordered to help you to be rein- 
stated in office ? 

A. I bad no knowledge of it. 

Q. Had you any knowledge of that, in any manner? 

A. I had heard that such was the case. 

Q. How did 3^ou hear it, before Monday the 7th ? 

A. In the newspapers. 

Q. You are sure you never heard anything of it, except 
through the newspapers? 

A. I heard it on the streets; I think Mr. Pegram told me. 

Q. Did you not know, when you were in Jackson, that such 
was the fact; that he would be, or had been so instructed ? 

A. I don't know that I did, sir. 

Q. I would like you 'to be positive, whether you had any 
knowledge of that when 3'ou were in Jackson ? 

A. If Captain Hall was to be instructed to use his militia 
force ? 

Q. When you were in Jackson, had you any knowledge of 
the telegram that was sent, or to be sent to P. C. Hall ? 

A. No 

Q. You knew nothing of it ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. When did you find that out ? 

A. I heard only from Captain Hall ; I did not know. 

Q. When did you see Captain Hall; did you see him at any 
time before the fight ? 

A. I think I did ; a day or two before the fight. 

Q. You never heard from him that he had such orders ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You say that you went to Jackson, and went to see the 
Governor ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And you advised with him about this matter? 

A. I told him about it. 

Q. And I understood 3'Ou to say that the Governor told you 
— what? 

A. That I had as much power as he had, or more; and that 
I could use the power of the county. 

Q. Are 3*011 certain that this was all the Governor told you ? 

A. I am certain; that is about the sum and substance of 
what he told me. 

Q. He did not go into details as to any action 3'Ou should 
take? 

A. No, sir; he onl3'' referred me to the law. 

Q. Did 3'ou receive a letter or telegram from Cardozo, in 
reference to this matter ? 

A. I received a letter while I was in prison; which letter Col. 
Miller 2;ot. 

Q. What did that letter state ? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. Was it in reference to these troubles ? 



55 

A. I suppose so; I don't know. 

Q. Your mind seems to be pretty clear on some points; you 

read it ? 

A. I read that letter ; it was nothing more than that the 
words were used, "to make no compromise with these men." 
When the letter was brought in— Mr. Miller brought it in, and 
said: "Here are a couple of letters ; here is an official letter, 
and here is a private letter ; have you any objection to my 
opening these letters?" I told him to let me see the letters ; 
he handed them to me ; I told him, " here is an official letter; 
I have no objection to let 3^ou see that;" he said that he wanted 
to see the other letter ; I told him, " this is a private letter ;'* 
he insisted that he should see it; I told him then, that I was 
in prison and under his guard, and if he would see that letter, 
I considered it forced ; he then took the letter, opened and read 
it ; he returned it ; I just had the letter long enough to look 
over it. 

Q. You don't remember what that letter contained in refer- 
ence to this matter? 

A. I have no clear recollection of it ; I have seen what pur- 
ports to be a cop3% published in a paper, in which Cardozo 
8a3's: "Not to make any compromise with these men, that the 
Governor was at my back." Whether that was the exact lan- 
guage of the letter or not, I cannot tell you. 

Q. That is the first information, then, you had that the Gov- 
ernor was at your back in this matter ? 

A. I had no positive information. 

Q. It seems, then, that you knew nothing about his ordering 
Capuiin Hall, of the militia, to support you?— you did not 
know of any other force to support you ? 

A. As I have told you, the Governor referred me to the law, 
and told me that he was powerless to do anything ; and he 
referred me to the law of the State. 

Q. Did the Governor advise you what particular class of 
citizens to summon to reinstate you ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. He just showed you the law authorizing you to summon 
a posse? 

A. He referred me to the law. 

Q. Did not the Governor tell you to summon the very citi- 
zens who had put you out, to put you back ? 

A. I don't thinkhe did; he never told me what to do ; he 
said I had the law to guide me. 

Q. You are sure he did not tell you that ? 

A. He did not tell me who to summon to reinstate me. 

Q. I would like for you to be certain, and say whether he 
did or not tell you to summon the very men who put you out, 
to put 3'ou back ? 

A. I don't recollect the Governor telling me to summon any 
particular set of men ; in the conversation with him about this 
matter, he referred me to the law, and said that he was power- 



56 

less, and that I had as much power to protect myself as he 
had ; I don't remomber any time the Governor 3 Uitig m3 to 
summon any particular class of citizens, or to summon any ; 
he only referred me to the law. 

Q. Was that card issued at the suggestion of an}^ one, or 
was it your own idea ? 

A. My idea was to publish a card to m}^ friends and thts 
citizens in tlie next issue of the Plain Dealer^ and, to that end, 
I sent to a friend of mine, telling him that I did not feel like 
writing, and for him to write it for me; he wrote it and read it 
in my hearing, and asked me whether I would sign my name 
to it; I said yes, and signed it; I was talking to a friend at 
the time, and had no idea of the severit}^ of the language un- 
til afterwards. 

Q. I understood you to say, a while ago, that you called 
upon the Mayor to aid you with his police force? 

A. Yes; I asked him. 

Q. And that he declined to do anj^thing ? 

A. I regarded his answer as declining. 

Q. What was his answer? 

A. He gave no particular answer. 

Q. What was his answer? 

A. I saw Dr. O'Leary on the street, and I asked him, in the 
event that I should need his assistance, and that of the police 
force, on the coming day, to maintain the law, whether I could 
get them or not; to which he gave no answer that I could de- 
pend upon; I don't know reall}' what he did say. 

Q. What was his language ? 

A. I don't know, reall3^; I think he said, "I will see some- 
thing about it; see me again," and rode up the street. 

Q. Was not that encouraging? 

A. No; I don't think so; I also spoke to Mr. Pegram and 
asked him whether he thought the Mayor would assist me with 
the police force; he told me he thou<jht not. 

Q, Mr. Pegram told you so ? 

A. Yes ; I got no satisfaction. 

Q. Do you tliink that the Ma3^or would have any right to 
use his police force for a purpose of that kind? 

A. I think so. 

Q. Under what law ? 

A. I think the Mayor of the city would have the right to 
use not onl^^ his police force, but any other force. 

Q. To restore the Sheriff to office ? 

A. Not to restore the Sheriff" or anybody else to office, but 
to see the law executed. It was not the question as to whether 
I should have the office; but here I had been forced to resign, 
and the Court was tb meet in the morning, and there was no 
Sheriff", and nothing that could be done in the way of carr3'ing 
on the courts of the count}'; and I was, as Sheriff, charged 
with the dut}' of attending to the opening of Court. 



57 

Q. Would not the Mayor and his force bear the same rela- 
tion to you as the balance of the citizens ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You would have to summon them individually ? 

A. I don't know; I think if the Mayor had been so dis- 
posed, he could have co-operated with me; I think, if the 
Mayor had taken hold of it, he could have prevented tho 
trouble. 

Q. Do you think he had the legal authority to do anything of 
that kind? 

A. I don't think his authority could be questioned. 

Q. You never summoned, then, as part of your posse, any 
citizen of Vicksburg? 

A. No. 

Q. Yom posse, then, as summoned by you, were colored? 

A. 1 did not summon them; I don't know. 

Q. Do you know of a single white man of the county who 
was summoned ? 

A. T don't know. 

Q. Did you instruct any white men to be summoned ? 

A. I did not instruct any to be summoned; I sent word to 
Owens to summon the posse for me. 

Q. Did you summon any part of the town people, colored or 
white ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Not a man in town ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You are sure of that ? 

A. I think not. 

Q. I would like for you to be certain. 

A. I have answered that. 

Q. No, you have not. 

A. I sent the summons by Andrew Owens and Mr. Stith; 
whether they summoned men from the city or not, I don't 
know. 

Q. You did not summon any j^ourself ? 

A. No. 

Q. Did you not see a good many that you could have sum- 
moned ? 

A. I could have done so, I suppose. 

Q. What was the reason you had for confiding this matter 
entirely to colored men ? 

A. I had plenty of business to do; I was at work; they 
could summon them just as well as I could. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Have you withheld any important evidence in this 
matter ? 

A. I don't know but that I have. 

Q. You say that you have not testified in full ? 

A. No; I have not. 



58 

Q. What subject is it on which you desire to testif)^ and on 
which you have not testified ? 

A. My testimon}'' should be in reference to these matters 
here in town. 

The further examination of this witness is dispensed with 
for the present. 



CORNELIUS AXELSON, 



Being duly sworn, says: [Examination in chief.] 

Q. You are a member of the Board of Supervisors of the 
county of Warren ? 

A. I am. 

Q. State what you know about the bond of the Sheriff of 
this county, and what proceedings were had by the Board of 
Supervisors in regard to this bond. 

A. I think the action was taken in July, to consider the old 
bond of Sheriff Crosby, and he was cited to come within ten 
days, before the Board, to give reasons why he should not give 
a new bond; I would prefer to have the book before me. [The 
official record, or minute book of the Board of Supervisors is 
produced.] On Tuesda}', the 22d of September, 1874, I find 
the subject was laid over until the next meeting; the next day, 
on the journal of the meeting of the 23d of September, I find 
that citation \vas ordered to be issued to Sheriff Crosby to 
appear at the October term of Court. 

Q. Did not the Board of Supervisors, when their attention 
was called to the rumors of rascality, on the part of different 
county officials, order an investigation immediately ? 

A. Yes; on August 8, 1874. 

Q. On the 8th of August their attention was called to the 
alleged rascality of various count}' oflScials, and the}' appointed 
a committee of investigation ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. What did that committee do ; did they appoint experts ? 

A. I will read the order made on August 8, 1874 : " It appear- 
ing to the Board, that reports injurious to the credit of the county 
exist, and it further appearing that an investigation of the 
books and papers of the several county officers is necessarj'^, 
it is hereby ordered that a committee of this Board, consisting 
of two members, be, and they are hereby empowered and in- 
structed to examine the books and papers of such officers; if 
necessary, proceed to thecapitol of the State, and employ such 
^erical assistance as may be necessary to make a thorough in- 
vestigation of such books and papers, and report the result to 
this Board as early as practicable." 

Q. Now, was there any collusion between the members of 
the Board and Sheriff Crosby, to prevent a meeting, so that 
his bond could not be inquired into ? 

A. Not to my knowledge. 

Q. .You don't know of any such conspiracy or collusion V 



59 

A. No. 

Q. Have you any reason to believe that there was any ? 

A. I liave no reason to believe there was; I have no knowl- 
edge of the fact. 

Q. Were 3'ou present when the second resignation of Sheriff 
Crosby was presented to the Board ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do you think that the Board of Supervisors, at that time, 
acted unrestrainedly ? 

A. The Board itself had no use to act in that way; they 
came in of their own free will, and we thought it the only 
thing that could be done to restore the peace of the county at 
that time. 

Q. Have you heard anything of any threats made against 
the members of the Board ? Were not their resignations also 
demanded ? 

A. The resolutions I have read in the papers, and the violent 
tone of the Vicksburg Herald indicated it. 

Q Were not the resignations of the members of the Board 
demanded at ^he same time, and by the same resolution that 
demanded the resignations of Crosby, Davenport, Newton and 
others ? 

A. I read it in the papers; the resolution included the Board 
of Supervisors. 

Q. Do 3^ou know anything of the fighting that occurred, or 
anything in regard to the riot that occurred here on Monday, 
the 7th of December ? 

A. I onl}'' saw the excitement here at the Court-house, when 
the prisoners were brought in. 

Q. State what you know in regard to this matter ? 

A. All that I know about it is that, coming into town for a 
load of goods, I was met by a man on horseback who told 
me that there was great excitement in town ; and he inquired 
about the state of feeling and state of things in my neighbor- 
hood. After I had stated to him what I knew, and had gone 
into town, I met several others, and came at last to Washing- 
ton street, where I found every store closed ; I saw afterward, 
after retiring to the Court-house, men brought to jail who were 
wounded, and others who were not; I came into the Court- 
room ill order to see Crosby; he requested me to immediately 
go back on my road and try to prevent everybody from coming 
into town; I then spent the afternoon in that behalf; and, as 
far as I know, nobody came in, and there was no crowd, on 
this, the Yazoo Valle^^ road; I did not see any one shot. 

Q. Do you know of any houses having been searched ? 

A. No, sir; I saw the place where a man named Tom Bit- 
terman was shot in his house; he was a colored man ; I saw it 
the next morning. 

Q . He was shot by whom ? 

A. By members of the so called cavalry going out during 
the night into the bluff. 



60 

Q. Was bis body there ? 

A. It was being taken away by the City Sexton at the time 
I arrived there. 

Q. You did not see any others who were killed ? 
A. No, sir. 

By the Chairman: 

Q. You spoke about a company of cavalry; who composed 
that company, colored men or white men? 

A. They were mounted white men. 

Q. Did you know any of them ? 

A. I did not see the company; it was a little after dark 
when I heard the horses going by. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. When did 3^ou sa}^ 3^ou heard of these troubles first on 
that day ? 

A. While I was in town I heard of these troubles. 

Q. How did you find out that these men were wounded, that 
you say were brought in ? 

A. I saw some of them, saw the blood, and was told that 
they were wounded; I did not go to the jail; I was standing 
at the Court-house. 

Q. While you were in town, did yoa hear of any one of the 
citizens being killed on Cherry' street, just before crossing the 
railroad ? 

A. Yes ; I heard of it; I came in on the northern road. 

Q. Tell the committee how man}' colored men 3'ou saw with 
arms, in town that day ? 

A. I did not see any on my road ; I saw several who were 
coming in, and after I demonstrated to them that it would be 
dangerous to go in town, they went back with me ; I made it 
my business to stay on that road, in the afternoon, to speak to 
everybody that meant to go into town, in order to bring them 
back. 

Q. Were you approached, in going out, by any armed men ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do 3'ou know any of them ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Give us the names of those 3^0 u knew ? 

A. Major Magruder seemed to have charge of a squad, at 
the bridge, here ; he inquired what was going on in m3' section 
of country. 

Q. What did you tell him ? 

A. That everything was quiet out my wa3' ; that there was 
no intention, as far as I knew, of the people there coming into 
the city. 

Q. That no demonstration was made by the colored people, 
in 3'our section, to come in and destro3" the cit3'' ? 

A. Yes, I told him so. 



61 

Q. Your settlement was pretty thick with colored people ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. If there had been anything said about it, you would pro- 
babl}^ have heard it ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And you heard nothing of that kind ? 

A. Not out my wa}^ ; no, sir. 

Q, How many men do you suppose were in that squad that 
3^ou met on the bridge ? 

A. I think there were some fifty or sixty men stationed at 
the bridge ; there were pickets further out, also. 

Q. There had been no chance, then, for any colored men to 
get into town, to do any damage, on that road, and you went 
bac-k to jcU them not to come in town, at all ? 

A. There was no demonstration of any such intention on 
their part. 

Q Were th^se men, on the bridge, white men or colored ? 

A. White men. 

Q The squad was composed of all white men ? 

A. Yes, sir ; they were all white men on that bridge. 

By Mr. Cessor : • 

Q. You stated that there was one man killed out your way ? 

A. Y^e.s. 

Q What was his name ? 

A. Tom. Bitterman . 

Q. Do you know an}^ one, living near his place, who could 
idei.tify the part}^ who did the shooting? 

A. Near that place ? Captain Bowen and 'Squire Hunt. 

Q. You know of no colored men, living near there ? 

A. There were some parties in the same house at the time ; 
I inquired who had done it, and they said they had not been 
able to recognize who had done it. 

Q. Is it not your opinion that they were afraid to tell ? 

A. They would not be afraid of me; the}' lived in the same 
house. 

Q. Do you know the name of an}- of them ? 

A. Murry is the man's name who owned the house; Tom 
Murry ; the old man boarded with him, or used to board with 
him. 

Q. Do you know how man}'^ colored men were killed out on 
that road ? 

A. This is the only one that I know of having been killed 
inside of the city limits; this was inside of the citj' limits. 

Q. Do you know whether there were any white men killed 
out there, or not ? 

A. No; not on that road — to Snyder's Bluff; I have no per- 
sonal knowledge. 

Q. From all the information you have, could 3'ou tell us 
about the number of white men and the number of colored 
men that were killed ? 
In— 6 



62 

A. The parties who were empowered to bury the dead, con- 
sisted of Mr. Venables and Mr. Bradshaw, and they have made 
a report — the day before j^esterda}^, at the meeting of the 
Board of Supervisors — that they had buried nine right about 
here, inside of the city limits. 

Q. IIow many of that number did they report were white 
men ? 

A. They have not reported any white men buried at all; and 
j'-esterda^' the Board gave ai order, or a request, to Mr. Chavis, 
to bury three bodies, reported lying out fourteen miles from 
here. 

Q. They are lying there yet ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. The}^ were killed on the 8th of December ? 

A. I don't know when they were killed. 

Q. You are satisfied, though, that the\^ were killed by the 
parties who went up that wa}' ? 

A. I can onl}' make a supposition; I have not seen anything 
about it. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. Do 3^ou know any of these parties who were killed out 
there ? 

A. One of the bodies is reported to be that of Joe Koop. 

Q. The other two were presumed to be colored men ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did you see, on the day of the riot, any colored men 
armed ? 

A. No; there was one man passed me in the morning, but 
he went to the woods to hunt with a shot-gun ; he is following 
that business. 

Q. The colored men did not concentrate at any particular 
point on that road ? 

A. No; there was no unusual traveling on the road* 

Q. Did the colored men seem to be alarmed ? 

A. The majority did not know anything about the troubles 
here until I came and told them. 

Q. Those colored men who remained out there unburied, 
were the^^ taken from their homes and killed ? 

A. That is more than I know; it is so reported; I don't 
know. 

Q. Do you know any parties living near where those men 
were killed ? 

A. I believe "Washington Davis gave this information; he is, 
perhaps, the one who knows most about it. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. How long had the complaints of rascality and fraud been 
made against the county officials before this order was made, 
appointing this committee, by the Board of Supervisors ? 

A. It was simply based on rumors on the streets. 



63 

Q. The object of appointing that committee was, if there was 
any rascality or frauds committed by any of the county 
officials, to discover it ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Had the subject of the insufficiency of Crosby's bond 
been brought to your attention frequentl}^ ? 

A. It was agreed, at the time, that this committee should 
also have power to investigate that. 

Q. Were you not called upon and urged to procure a meet- 
ing of the Board in regard to his bond, so that his bond might 
be perfected and made good ? 

A. This was on the 8th of August. 

Q. I am speaking now of the bond alone ? 

A. Of late Mr. Packer and myself called a meeting of the 
Board. 

Q. And you failed to get a quorum ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did 3'ou not fail twice ? 

A. Yes ; the second time was during the riot on Tuesday, 

Q. Did 3'ou not fail before that ? 

A. Yes; once before. 

Q. Do you regard the last bond of Crosby^s as being a good 
bond ? 

A. I have not examined it. 

Q. Were you present when the Board approved it ? 

A. Yes; I was present at the time. 

Q. Did you object to the approval of that bond ? 

A. I insisted on an investigation first, 

Q. But you were overruled bv a majority of the Board f 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were you present at a meeting of the Board at one time 
when there was a settlement of the County Treasurer, and 
warrants were handed in for cancelation, and the matter was 
laid over till the next meetinsf ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And the next morning did not the Board meet before the 
usual hour, before you got there ? 

A. Yes; it met between nine and ten o'clock that morning. 

Q. Ten was the usual hour ? 

A. Yes; that was generally the time it was set for; but 
sometimes it was at nine . 

Q. What were you told had become of those warrants 
handed in by the Treasurer the day before; were thev on 
hand when you got there ? 

A. Yes; except those which had been burned. 

Q. What were 3^ou told had been done with those that were 
not on hand ? 

A. That they had been burned, 
Q. Were they all burned ? 
A, I don't know. 



64 

Q. You have never heard of any of those warrants having 
been discovered since ? 

A. No; I don't know; I don't think that I have; there was 
one warrant found among the same lot, and afterward recov- 
ered, that liad been formerlj- reported by Crosby; but I have 
not seen it. 

Q. You have no information that would lead you to believe 
that some of those warrants were not burned, that should have 
been burned ? 

A. No; I have no reason to believe that. 

Q. Was Crosby's bond, that was approved, carefull}^ examined 
b}' any of the members of the Board ? 

A. No, sir; there was no examination; only the names and 
the amounts were added together to see 7 hether they would 
make up the sum required. 

Q. Was there an}^ request made, on the part of the tax- 
payers, tliat the matter be deferred until the insufficiency of the 
bond could be shown to the Board ? 

A. I didn't know whether there was an}^ remonstrance made 
or not ; I objected to it at the time, and insisted that it should 
be deferred until the next morning, or put into the hands of a 
committee. 

Q. Were there an}' persons present, at that time, claiming to 
represent the tax-payers of the county ? 

A. Yes ; I think there were several present at the meeting 
of the Board ; I think Mv. Baum was there. 

Q. Did the}- object to the bond ? 

A. Mr. Baum was one of *,hose who objected to it. 

By Mr. Gill : 

Q. Does the order of the Supervisors, approving the last 
bond of Crosb}', appear on the record ? 

A. Yes. 

By Mr. Sullivan : 

Q. Do 3'ou believe, or do you think, that if the action of the 
Board of Supervisors had not been sucii as suited the White 
League, or Tax-Payer's League, that any violence would have 
been offered, or that anything would have occurred at the meet- 
ing at which Crosby's resignation was sent in, or at any meet- 
ing previous to or since that time, or that they would have 
made some demonstration against the Board of Supervisors, or 
against individual members thereof? 

A. It was their own and Crosby's wish that the resignation 
should be accepted, to avoid any further bloodshed. 

Q. I would like you to answer wliether the Board of Super- 
visors was not under the influence, to some extent, of the 
armed body of wiiite men in and about the city ? 

A. I was not influenced by them. 

Q. Don't you think that some demonstration would have 
been made against individual members of the Board if the ac- 



65 

tion of the Board had not been such as to suit the Tax-Payer's 
League, or the armed white citizens ? 

A. That is very hard for me to say. 

Q. I ask your opinion ; if your action had been different, 
wouki there not have been bloodshed ? 

A. The immediate order and acceptance of the resignation, 
we thought, would disband the militia and quiet everything. 

Q Then you believe that all they wanted was to secure 
Crosby's resignation, or that that was their main object ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And that, if he had not resigned, or if the order had not 
been made accepting the resignation, that violence and blood- 
shed would have ensued ? 

A. That was Crosby's argument at the time ; I had some 
conversation with him at the time. 

Q. How did the Board regard Crosb}' as an official ; as honest 
or otherwise? 

A. As far as investigation has gone, as a Treasurer, he was 
cleared by the Board, at ihe July meeting. 

Q. Is he not regarded as an honest Sheriff? 

A. We have no reason to look upon him otherwise. 

Q. Did not the Board consider him an honest official ? 

A. We have no reason to believe him to be otherwise. 

Q. Were there any charges preferred against Sheriff Crosb}^ 
for dishonesty ? 

A. Not to m}^ knowledge. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Were any threats made against you, or, as far as you 
know, against any of the Supervisors, to cause the acceptance 
of Crosby's resignation ? 

A. No, sir. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Have not certain members of the Tax-Payers' League, at 
various times, used insulting and violent language before the 
Board of Supervisors ? 

A. In former times, yes; but not at that meeting. 

Q. Wh}^ did not the Board maintain its dignity, and punish 
these men ? Was it not because they believed it might lead 
to violence and bloodshed, if they had attempted to maintain 
the dignity of the Court ? Give us your honest opinion now ? 

A. in several instances, I requested the President to pre- 
serve order; he told me that he could not well do it. 

Q. That he was powerless to do it ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did you not believe, that if an attempt had been made to 
maintain the dignity of the Court, that it would Jiave led to 
violence; and that that was the cnuse of neglect of the Board 
to maintain its dignit}^ as a Court ? 

A. I requested the President, at the July meeting and at the 



66 

August meeting, to preserve order ; be said he was unable to 
do it. 

Question repeated. 

A. I think it was. 

Q. Then you believe it was ? 

A. At these two meetings. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, did you do 
anything, or fail to do anything, that you considered in viola- 
tion of your dut}" ? 

A. I was exactly ready to take it as it came; as an indi- 
vidual. 

Q. You did, under all circumstances, what 3'ou regarded as 
your duty as a member of the Board of Supervisors of this 
county ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

The committee here took a recess until half-past two o'clock 
this afternoon. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 

ERASMUS D. RICHARDSON, 

Being duly sworn, sa3^s: [Examination in chief. 1 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. You live in Vicksburg ? 

A. Yes. 

Q, What is your occupation ? 

A. At present, I am special policeman. 

Q. State what j^ou know in regard to the late riot and insur- 
rection that occurred here on the 7th of December ? 

A. The causes that led to it, or what ? My idea is that this 
thing has been brewing ever since the election of 1871, when 
Crosby was elected; if you want to get at the causes, and so 
on — 

Q. Confine yourself to what transpired on the 8th of De- 
cember, 1874, and what you know about the troubles that cul- 
minated in the riot ? 

A. On the night of the 6th of December, two gentlemen 
came in from the country and notified me that there was a 
large body of colored men assembling at the Hickory Tree; 
that they were to leave at twelve o'clock to come to Vicksburg; 
so I was here on watch at the Court house; in the morning, 
about half-past seven o'clock, from the tower of the Court- 
house, I saw a large number of men coming, about two miles 
away from here, on tlie Baldwin Ferr}^ road; quite a large 
number of men; I rung the bell from the top of the Court- 
house; they kept on coming, until they came inside of tho 



67 

limits of the city of Vicksburg; they got into the city limits; 
then the people here captured Crosby and brought him into 
the Court-house here; I still stayed up on top of the Court- 
house; pretty soon after, they brought in Andrew Owens, a 
colored man, to see Crosby: they had some conversation to- 
gether, at which I was not present; then Owens went back; 
while Owens was here, this party came in on the Jackson r oad, 
on Jackson street — this party ot colored people; they stopped 
at the bridge, on Jackson street; after Owens went back, and 
was gone for some time, I savv the men returning on the Bald- 
win Ferry road, the Grove street road; after they had retreated 
about a mile, the firing commenced ; but, before any firing 
commenced there, the first shot was fired here, on Clay street, 
near the corner of Palmer street. 

Q. Inside of the city limits ? 

A. Yes ; near the machine shop. 

Q. Near the Court house ? 

A. Yes; within a square or so. 

Q. Do you know who fired that shot ? 

A. A white man. 

Q. At whom was it fired ? 

A. At a colored man; the colored man came up on the bank; 
there is a big fall there; he grabbed a gun from a white man, 
and I heard the report of a pistol, and saw the colored man 
fall. 

Q. Did you recognize who the man was that fired ? 

A. No; I did not. 

Q. Were there an}' other white rnen there at the time ? 

A. There were two or three going out on horseback, and 
some on foot. 

Q. Do 3^ou know who they were ? 

A. No; I have been told that colored man's name, who was 
killed; Tom something. 

Q. What had he done ? 

A. He pulled a gun out of a white man's hands. 

Q. Was he alone ? 

A. He was alone, going up the bank; then, about that time, 
I heard several shots fired out on Cherry street; but I could 
not see who did it. 

Q. That was before the firing occurred on the Baldwin's 
ferry road ? 

A. Yes; that was before the firing commenced on the 
Grove-street road; about that time, I noticed this firing; I 
noticed on the Confederate Fort a large number of colored 
men coming in at the left of the Cherry-street road; they re- 
mained there until some men went from the city ; the colored 
men on that place fired first ; on the Grove-street road, the 
white men fired first. 

Q. Tlie first shot was fired by the whites on that day ? 

A. Yes; on the Grove-sreet road; the white men fired first 
there; but at this old Confederate Fort, the colored men fired 
first. 



68 

Q. Where did the firing first commence ? 

A. On the Grove-street road; the first firing of an}^ large 
amount of men was at the Grove-street figlit. 

Q. You say that the party of colored men on Grove street, 
had retreated a mile or more, and were retreating when they 
were fired on by the white men ? 

A. Yes; understand me now: the colored men had stopped 
for some purpose outside of the city limits; but that is hear- 
sa3', stating what they stopped for; Owens said, he was telling 
them that he had seen Crosby, and that Crosby said they must 
go home. 

Q. You say, that over by the Fort, the colored men fired 
first ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Was there fighting on any other road than those two ? 

A. Not at that time; but afterward, in the afternoon, about 
twelve or one o'clock, and sometime afterward, there was quite a 
large number — I counted twenty-two in one squad — that came 
pretty near the city limits; their company went by the Jack- 
son road, and then retreated to the Pemberton monument, 

Q. The colored men, you sa}^, retreated to the Pemberton 
monument before there was any fighting there ? 

A. Yes; and when they got out there they met Hogan's 
company of white men, coming in; these colored men retreated 
into wliat is called the Shirley House, about two miles out on 
the road; Hogan's company then advanced, and three of those 
men left their command, Olive Brown and two others, white 
men; they fired on these three men, and Brown was killed; 
but, at the same time, there was firing by a party on horse- 
back; then these three men left. 

Q. Which way did these men go? 

A. They went to the Shirley House, and burst the door 
open. 

Q. You could see all this from the tower of the Court house; 
did you have a spy-glass ? 

A. Yes; what they call a field-glass. 

Q. How many white men, and how many colored men, were 
killed during that day? 

A. Well, it is variously estimated. 

Q. What is j'our information on that subject? 

A. My idea is, from what I have learned, that about seventy- 
five colored men were killed. 

Q. And how many white men ? 

A. Two. 

Q. HoAv man}' colored men have 3'ou heard of being 
wounded on that day, and how many white men? 

A. 1 have only heard of two colored men being wounded ; I 
don't think there was any white man wounded; that is, from 
the best information I can get; there were seven colored men 
killed at the Shirle}^ House, two in town and four between here 
and Magnolia Grove; there was one man taken back to Hinds 



69 

county, in the neighborhood of Ca^'uga; two colored men were 
taken and buried at Mount Albon; and there are three who 
have not been buried yet. 

Q. Lying in the cane? 

A. At Mrs. Fox's place; at least, tliey were not buried yes- 
terday; I got the information, and got the Board to authorize 
the deputy, Wash. Chavis, to bury them; there were two killed 
on Doctor Cook's place. 

Q. Do you know how they were killed? 

A. They were shot by those men, I suppose; Mrs. Cook told 
me that there were two killed there ; John Mack told me that 
there were eleven killed at Freetown, six or seven miles from 
here. 

Q. Have you heard of any others having been killed ? 

A. There" is one reported as having been killed by a colored 
man, because he would not go in and fight; this man said that 
A. C. Mack was killed. 

Q. He was a Justice of the Peace? 

A Yes; they were bringing him down, when he was shot 
while trying to get away. 

Q. By whom was he killed, and who was bringing him down ? 

A. The man's name who told me is John Patterson; there 
were some others with him; Patterson told me that they were 
bringing the man down, when Mack tried to get away, and 
they shot him. 

Q. You have stated that, from your position on top of the 
Court house, with the aid of a field-glass, you could see the 
colored men on ditferent roads leading to the city. 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do you think, from what you saw, that after Owens came 
to the Court-house and went back, that there would have been 
any fighting brought on by the colored men ? 

A. I don't think that Owens^ men would have brought on 
any fight ? 

Q. And Owens' men were first fired on ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You don't think they would have come into the city 
at all? 

A. No, sir ; from the best information I have, they would 
have gone home. 

Q. And from what you observed of their movements ? 

A. Yes ; from what I observed of their movements. 

Q. Do you think that the colored men, who were killed, 
were necessarily killed by the citizens, in order to protect the 
cit}' against their countrymen ? 

A. Well, sir ; (hesitating). 

Q. From what you saw ? 

A. From what I saw 

Q. Was there any necessit}' for this wholesale slaughter ? 

A. I think that if it had not been for the white men, that 
Owens' men would have gone back without firing on the town; 



70 

but those men in the fort — they fired first ; there were eleven 
white men and a large number 6f colored men in that fight. 

Q. How long after the fighting commenced on Grove street 
was it when these men appeared at the old Confederate fort? 

A. A very short time. 

Q. Half an hour, or an hour ? 

A. No ; only a few minutes. 

Q. What did those colored men do on the Grove street road, 
when the3' were fired on ? 

A. The\' seemed to scatter in every direction. 

Q. The}' did not return the fire ? 

A. Some of them did ; there w^eremen on horseback there- 
white men — who fired first. 

Q. Could you distinguish the man who fired the first shot ? 

A. Yes, I think I can name him. 

Q. What was his name ? 

A. His name is Ackerman — Gotlieb Ackerman ; I think it 
was he who fired first ; I think Mr. Furlong will testify to that. 

Q. Did 3'ou recognize any other person, ou either side — 
white or colored — who fired any other shot? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Give their names ? 

A. Charles Wheeler. 

Q. A hack-driver? 

A. Yes ; Pat. Malo}^ and Randall Yates ; I am not positive 
as to Yates ; there were five men on horseback who did the 
most of the shooting — that is, in the forepart of the fight ; let 
me see — there were some more ; I cannot remember them now. 

Q. What is Gotlieb Ackerman's profession? 

A. A hack-driver. 

Q. What number of colored men did you see on the various 
roads loading to the cit}^ ? Can you estimate the number? 

A. Well, sir, my estimate is lower than the most of them ; 
from what I could see, I thir.k there were, I suppose from a 
hundred to a hundred and fifty on the Grove street road, and 
about a hundred at the Confederate fort. 

Q. Is that all ? 

A. No ; I counted twenty-one in the squad, that came near 
Captain Hughes' place, and afterwards retreated. 

Q. You were on top of the Court house ? 

A. Yes. 

Q-. And you had a powerful glass that enabled 3'ou to see ? 

A. Yes; I could see a pet deer on a man's gallery nine miles 
from hei'e. 

Q. So, 3'ou think, that all told, there was about two hundred 
and filly men, colored men, coming toward the city on that 
day ? 

A. Yes; but there was a crowd of men that I did not see ; 
the company of Asbury and Hebron had a lot of men back 
there; Mr. Stith told me so; there were probably a hundred 
men th^re; but the}^ did not come where I could see them; 



71 

they were in the timber; the}" came within four or five miles of 
the city; but I could not see them. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. How many colored men did you see on that day with 
arms ? 

A. Well, sir, I could not tell you; a part of those men of 
Owens' were armed, and a part did not have anv arms ; I could 
not tell the number that had arms; Andrew Owens told me 
that there were about seventy-five of his men that had arms. 

Q. You stated that Owens' men had stopped when they were 
fired on ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. That they had retreated, and then stopped to receive 
some orders from Owens? 

A. That is -what Owens said ; that he was telling- them he had 
had an interview with Crosb}^, and that Crosby said that they 
must ^o back; they had stopped anyway. 

Q. Who were those men who went back to Yazoo after 
Mack ? 

A. I don't know only John Patterson; I saw Capt. Hogan 
with them; Patterson was the man who went after Mack. 

Q. Do you know the number that went after him? 

A. No, sir; only from hearsa}' ; six or seven. 

Q. You stated that, after Mack attempted to get awa}^, they 
Bhot him ? 

A. That is what Patterson told me. 

Q. They had another man with Hendeison Mack? 

A. Not that I know of. 

Q. Did 3'ou see Mr. Furlong have a gun ? 

A. No; I don't think he had any; he might— everybody was 
armed. 

Q. He was armed ? 

A. I presume he was; I never saw him without some kind of 
arms. 

Q. Do you know anything about the death of this man, Fur- 
man, who was killed ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. tte was killed inside of the city limits? 

A. Yes; but when that shot was fired, at the time he was 
killed, the houses were in such a condition that I could not 
see. 

Q. The houses intervened ? 

A. Yes; on Cherry' street there is a kind of an elbow, and I 
could not see there. 

Q. Do you know any one that was accused of shooting him ? 

A. I don't know; I have heard that Dr. Shannon, Dr. White- 
head and J. J. Cowan saw it. 

Q. Did you see Mr. Furlong during that riot? 

A. I saw him when he came in; he went out on horseback, 
and when he came in I saw him. 



72 

Q. Did you see him conversing with any colored men? 
A. I cannot sa}' that I did; I don't recollect. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Did Owens' crowd retreat while Owens was in the Court- 
house ? 

A. I think they went back part of the distance after he left 
them; I think they came in, and then went back part of the 
distance while Owens was in here. 

Q. And, v/hen Owens went ])ack, he was telling them about 
the interview he had had with Crosby? 

A. That is what he was telling me afterwards ; I could see 
where they were. 

Q How many white men advanced on tliem ? 

A. Only six or seven that fired on them: then there was quite 
a large number on foot behind them. 

Q. Owens' men ran from these six or seven men ? 

A. Yes; tliey scattered in e\ery direction when the}' were 
fired on; some of them fired back. 

Q. You are certain that there had been no firing before that, 
anywhere ? 

A, Yes; everjdiody started from the Court house to go out 
on different roads after this firing; on Chiy street, there had 
been one shot fired before that. 

Q. This one shot was fired, on Clay street, on a colored man, 
who had taken a white man's gun awa}- from him ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Who was in command of the white men that confronted 
Owens' men first — Col. Miller ? 

A. Col. Miller went out with a squad or company of men on 
foot, out Grove street; he had, may be, seventy-five or a hun- 
dred men. 

Q, Had Owens' men fallen back, when Miller's men got 
there ? 

A. They were not gone but a little wa}^; I could not see 
wliether Col. Miller's men followed them or not; they soon 
came back with a lot of prisoners; Col. Miller's command 
came back an hour or and hour and a half from the time he 
left. 

Q. How did Col Miller's command capture these prisoners, 
if Owens' men retreated so rapidh' ? 

A. I don't know, unless those men on horseback captured 
them; they all scattered, some one way and some another. 

Q. From which direction did the men on horseback come ? 

A. They went right out on the Grove street, or Baldwin 
Ferry road. 

Q. How far is the Shirley house from here ? 

A. About two miles. 

Q. You say, that that was advanced upon and broken open 
by two men ? 

A. Yes; they went to the door, after Olive Brown was 



73 

killed; then there was a large company came right up immedi- 
ately after that, or about the same time; they turned and went 
to the house, and the colored men scattered in all directions. 

Q. Do you know of any other colored men coming in here 
on the road, except those you mentioned — that hundred and 
tiftj^ the one hundred, and the twentj'^-one ? 

A. Yes; on the Warrenton road there was a small squad of 
men; but that was about three miles otf; I saw them; I don't 
think that there was any firins: done there. 

Q. Do you know whether or not Owens' men turned back to 
wait for reinforcements ? 

A. I don't know that; I don't know whether they did or 
not only from hearsay; I have no idea that they did, though, 
because about every colored man from that section Avas with 
him; a good many estimate their number very high; but, I 
think, that about a hundred and fifty will cover the whole of 
them. 

Q. How near did Ovvens' men come to the Court-house before 
they commenced retreating ? 

A. Within a quarter, or a half a mile; the^'- got inside of the 
city limits. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. How many men were killed inside of the cit}' limits ? 

A. Three, I think; one on the point here. 

Q. Did you see him killed ? 

A. No; I did not see him killed; I heard it. 

Q. You did not see any colored men with arms on that day, 
inside of the city limits ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. All the armed men that you saw inside of the city limits 
were white men ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. The colored people inside of the city limits, you say, 
made no demonstrations at all ? 

A. No, sir; only this colored man, who pulled a gun out of 
the hands of a white man. 

Q. What was the name of the gentleman, wdio first brought 
prisoners in to the Court house ? 

A. I could not tell you; there were a good many with them. 

Q. Who seemed to he the leading man among them ? 

A. Horace Miller. 

Q. They brought in the first prisoners ? 

A. Yes; Doctor Hunt came in with Crosbj' and some that 
were picked up on the streets here. 

Hiy the Chairman : 

Q. You have made 3^ourself prett}' familiar with the Sher- 
iff's office; do you know whether any of the Sheriffs, who 
have held office, have been defaulters, or not ? and if so, 
state all 3'ou know about it. 

A. No, sir; I do not know. 



74 

Q. Do 3'oa know an3'tliing that has been clone on the part of 
an}" of the Sheriffs in regard to malfeasance in office? and if 
so, state what 3'ou know. 

A. Well, about the defaulting business, it has been paid up; 
they did not pay up ver}- promptly. 

Q. Give the names, and what you know about it; 3'ou were 
Deputy Sheriff once? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You were Coroner of the countv previous to the election 
of 1873 ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Tell us what you know in that respect ? 

A. I don't propose to be a one-sided man at all; our Boards 
of Supervisors have done a good many- things that were not 
altogether straight; and the principal fault lies with the Board 
of Registrars; that is the starting point; stuffiing ballot-boxes, 
and all sorts of that kind in the election lastj^ear; they sent 
a drunken man to Davis' Bend to hold the election ; he got on 
a steamboat with his ballot-box to go to Davis' Bend; he got 
drunk and went to Grand Gulf; that was because Furlong and 
Crosby were not expected to carry'- that place. 

Q. That was done in the interest of whom ? 

A. In the interest of Furlong and Crosb3^ 

Q. Were Furlong and Crosby in partnership, acting together 
in that matter ? 

A. It was done in their interest; and out at Beech Grove, 
one night, Crosby and others tore a saddle off a mule; they 
did not hold any election there, because the people wanted to 
vote for me for Sheriff"; at Bovina, I got one vote; this whole 
fight started right there. 

Q. Did Furlong have any regular opposition for Senator ? 

A. Yes; at Bovina, they sent H. N. Martin there to hold the 
election; I got one vote counted there, where I can bring a 
hundred people who will swear that my name was on the ticket 
they voted ; and also that Alcorn got a hundred and fifty ma- 
jorit}^ there, where they say he did not get fifty votes. 

Q. What office did you run for ? 

A. For Sheriff". 

Q. Who was your opponent ? 

A. Crosby. 

Q. How many votes did you get in the county ? 

A. One hundred and fift}- were counted for me ; I can bring 
you twelve hundred people who will swear that they voted for 
me. 

By Mr. Sullivan r 

Q. Do 3'ou know an3'thing about some books that were stolen 
from the Slieriff's office— tax receipts and stub-books, which 
were afterwards found in a water-closet ? 

A. That was last spring. 



75 

Q. Who had possession of the Sheriti's office at that time? 

A. Crosby. 

Q. What books were stolen ? Were not the tax receipt 
books stolen that were used at the time when Crosby's prede- 
cessor wias in office? 

A. Yes ; it was Furlong who collected apart of the taxes of 
1873, and Crosbj the other part. 

Q. The books related to both of them? 

A. Yes. 

Q. At the time they were stolen Crosby had charge of. them ? 

A. Yes ; he had charge of the office. 

Q. The door was broken open ? 

A. I think they unlocked the door. 

By the Chairman: 

Q. What do you know about the defalcations, or malfeasance, 
in the Sheriffs office since 3^ou have been in the county? 

A. Well, sir, a settlement has been made since that; it was 
considered a defalcation, both on the part of Furlong and of 
Crosby ; but I believe it has all been straightened up since. 

GEORGE W. STITH, 

Being duly sworn, says : [Examination in Chief.] 

By Mr. Sullivan ; 

Q. State where j^ou live, and what is 3'our occupation, 

A. Mj' home is at Oak Ridge, but m}^ family lives here ; I 
am a Justice of the Peace, and also a teacher. 

Q. Where were you on the 7th of December, 1S74 ? 

A. I was at Beach Grove, ten miles east from here ; I will 
also state, that I was in Vicksburg earl}- in the morning; I was 
at Beach Grove when the fight took place. 

Q. What do you know in relation to the fight, on the 7th of 
December ? 

A. I held Court on Oak Ridge on Saturda}-, the 5th; on 
Saturday night, I learned from parties in the lower part of my 
district, that there was a call for all parties to come in here, to 
the Court-house, on Monday; that the Sheriff had called them 
in; I also learned that there was a circular, or a card, issued 
b}^ the Sheriff; I had not seen any of them; on Sunda}' even- 
ing I came in; I told the parties out there, my club, of which 
I was President— when I heard that they had held a meeting 
on Saturda}^ and had got the news that they were called in 
here^ and the circular was read to them — I advised them not to 
come in until I came in and saw Judge Morris, and had a con- 
sultation with him in regard to the difficulty, and the manner 
in which the Sheriff had been put out of office; he (Judge 
Morris) advised me that we had better stay at home and let the 
law work, and not to come in on the day on which the Court 
Was to open, which was the 7th of December; when I got 



76 

back to the Ridge, I found that they had had a meeting, and 
that circulars had been out; so, on Sunday, we had a meeting 
and I advised the men, that if tliey were called in I would lind 
out; and I also stated to them the advice I had about the mat- 
ter; I told them that if they had been called in that, of course, 
they were bound to come; they also stated to me that they 
were coming in here to be initiated as militia, in case of neces- 
sity; that the Governor had called upon us, through the 
Sheriff; this is only what was told to me; on Sunday, I ad- 
vised the men not to leave Beech Grove on Monday until I 
found out; I came in town on Saturday evening; I told thera 
that I would go in and see Crosb}', and learn the facts from 
him, and if we got into any difliculty here somebody would be 
responsible; that we wanted to know that we were right; I got 
home late, and received a cop}^ of the Plain Dealer^ and found 
in it a circular, with Crosby's name signed to it ; I then, on 
Monday morning, intended to see Crosby in regard to the mat- 
ter, knowing that the colored people were preparing, having 
understood that they were called here b}^ him; on jMonday, be- 
fore 1 came up to tlie cit^*, the bells were all ringing here; I 
came out to see where the tire was; I did not see any fire any- 
where; I met a policeman, and he told me that there was a 
number of negroes who were coming in to take the Court- 
house; that was about four o'clock in the morning; everybody 
here seemed to be preparing for a fight; after daylight, I went 
down to see Crosby; when I went to his house, I asked him 
whether the colored people were called on to come in here; I 
told him that circulars were out, and that I had seen his card, 
and that the men in the country understood that they 
were to come in here to be initiated into the militia, and 
that tlie Governor had called on them, through him 
(Crosby); first he asked me if I had seen his card; I told 
him I had ; he then said : " Yes, let them come." I then 
asktd him as to the manner of their coming ; I told him : 
'• The white men are fixing to fight ; that en the way I had seen 
men preparing." He then told me to tell my men to come 
with arms, that " the whites are coming in arms, and let the 
colored men come with arms ;" I told him that if the}' came 
there would be a fight; that the whites were preparing for it, 
and that I did nut believe it best for our men to come in ; 
most of them, I told him, were not armed, but expected to get 
arms in here ; I told him that they had better not come into 
the city, but had better stop outside of the city limits ; and 
I then asked him whether he thought there would be an}^ difH- 
culty; he said he did not think so; he thought the matter 
would be settled ; I then started out ; about half-past seven 
o'clock, and on my way out, about three miles from tcvvn, I 
met a crowd of colored men — thirt}'' or forty — in a gang, on 
the Jacksun street road, coming in from Mount Alljon ; they 
were noc armed ; I told them that the i)eople were fixing for a 
fight, in the city, and that the}' had better not go in there ; I 



77 

told them that I had seen Crosby ; that he told me to tell them 
to stop outside of the city, and not to come in ; I then told 
them thai I was told that most of them expected to get arms 
in the city, but tliat there were none ; some of the men then 
went back, and others came on ; I kept on, two miles further ; 
I met the Freetown Club — about sixty or seventy men in that 
gang — I suppose, and thirt}^ or forty of them had shot guns or 
muskets ; the others had nothing ; I gave them the same mes- 
sage — not to come into the cit}'. 

Q. Did both crowds turn back? 

A. Part of the first crowd turned back ; some of the men 
said that they were going in to see what was going on, an}^ 
way ; that was in the first crowd ; then I met the next crowd — 
the Freetown crowd — and I told them that Crosby had told me 
to tell them not to come in ; I told them that if they expected 
to get arms in the city, they would get none, that there were 
no arms there ; that Crosby had said that he did not expect 
that there would be an}^ difficulty ; that they should stop out- 
side of the town.; I assured them that if they went in there, 
that there would be a difficult}', especially if the}^ came in with 
arms, on account of the preparations I saw when I went out; 
This Freetown Club I met five miles from town ; I was meet- 
ino* white men and black men on the road, cominsj in toa^ether, 
some with guns, and some that did not have an^^thing ; I then 
got out about eight miles from town, and just as I turned off the 
road a squad of white men — Capt. Hogan's crowd — passed on, 
some fourteen or sixteen miles out; I then went on to Beech 
Grove, and I told the men there what I had learned; and, as I 
had proposed to them, I explained everything, and told them 
that Crosby had told me to tell them to come as far as the city 
limits, and to stop outside, and not to come in; then, before 
they got started, a man came, full haste, and reported that 
they were fighting like everything here at the monument, a half 
a mile from town; I came back then, and ni}^ club came as far 
as Beech Grove, and not any farther; there we learned that the 
fight was over, and that the colored men had scattered. 

Q. Confine ^^ourself to what you know of the fight? 

A. Then, as far as the Beech Grove Club was concerned, 
there were none of those men in the fight; we had only heard 
of the fight; I stated to them what Crosb}' had said, and they 
came ^Mthin six miles of town; there the^^ learned that the 
fight had taken place; and thej^ stopped, and thought it was no 
use going on au}^ further; they stopped at the fork an hour or 
two, and then went back to Beech Grove and remained there; 
did not know whether to disperse or not; they learned that the 
white men were taking out colored men in squads and killing 
them. 

Q. Do 3'ou know of anybody having been killed in your 
neighborhood? 

A. There was not an}' one killed in my neighborhood on that 
day. 

In— 7 



78 

Q. Were any killed there afterwards ? 

A. There was a man killed afterwards; he was taken out 
about a week afterwards and killed. 

Q. B}^ whom was he killed, do 3'ou know ? 

A. I have not learned the name of the party who took him 
out; George Sheppard was his name; he was taken out with 
Manuefl Toles, Joe Cook and A. C. Mack. 

Q. Was he killed ? 

A. Yes; he was taken out of jail and killed. 

Q. Who was it killed this man? 

A. I could not tell you; Mr. Hogan told me that he killed 
Mack; other parties that were with him say that he did not; 
he said that there was an affidavit made against 'Squire Mack 
and John Patterson ; the man who came after him got a war- 
rant from 'Squire Mann to go to Yazoo for him; he deputized 
Hogan to go with him; on their way back they got to 'Squire 
Mack's; Hogan told me that this side of Major Willis' 
'Squire JNIack undertook to get away, and he shot him; I don't 
know anything more about that than what Hogan told me; he 
told me himself that he shot him; it was on Monday that this 
fight took place; I don't know how the thing came about; but 
the colored people understood that thej'^ were ordered in here 
under authority; they started in ; when the thing occurred as 
it did, wh}'-, of course, they did not attempt to come in after 
they found out that the fight was going on; I was not right 
where the fight was, but right in the neighborhood. 

Q. You did not see any of it ? 

A. No; I did not see any of the fight myself; I was in the 
neighborhood. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. You say j^ou were in town on Saturday ? 

A. No, sir; I came in on Sunday, late, after dark. 

Q. I understood you to say that you learned on Saturday^ 
that you were ordered into Vicksburg, with the colored people ? 

A. I heard it late Saturday night. 

Q. How did you learn that fact ? 

A. One of the members of my club was telling me ; I asked 
him about the meeting on Saturday, the regular meeting, and 
he told me that they had had a meeting; and he went on to 
tell me what they had learned. 

Q. Did he tell you where he got his information ? 

A. He said, that the Governor had issued a proclamation, 
and that Peter Crosby had called them in; it was so indefinite. 

Q. Did his impression seem to be that the Governor had 
ordered you to come in here ? 

A. No; that the Sheriff had ordered us in. 

Q. Did 3'ou not state, a while ago, that you were called in 
by the Governor, through the Sheriff? 

A. No ; that the Sheriff had ordered us in. 

Q. And by authority of the Governor ? 



79 

A. Yes; they said that there were two papers read at the 
meeting. 

Q. Those papers were read at the club ? 

A. Yes; that is what they said to me; as I did not know 
what it was, I advised the parties not to leave Beech Grove, 
until I got in and found out what it meant. 

Q. Did it seem to be that man's impression that you were 
all ordered in here through the Sheriff, by aiithoritj^ of the 
Governor ? 

A. He seemed to understand it that way; that the Sheriff 
had been put out of his ottice illegally, and that the Governor 
had issued his proclamation; what that proclamation was, I 
did not know; that the Sheriff had called on the men of the 
county, white and black, to come in to his assistance and 
command. 

Q. And then, on Sunday, you came to town ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And you had an interview with Sheriff Crosby on Sunday ? 

A. I did not see the Sheriff until Monday morning, when 
everything seemed to be in excitement, and all the white peo- 
ple seemed to be fixing for a fight. 

Q. And the Sheriff told you that the men were to come 
armed? 

A. Yes; and I told him that the men had no arms; every- 
thing looked like there was going to be fighting. 

Q. How many clubs did you meet on the road going out^ 
Monday morning ? 

A. I met one club and part of another; the first I met was 
part of the Mount Albon club; they had no arms; the next 
club was the Freetown club. 

Q. There were seventy-five men in that club? 

A. Yes; about that number. 

Q. And thirty or forty of them were armed ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you not meet your club coming in ? 

A. No; they were at Beech Grove; the fight was going on 
before they left; they started and came about four miles, and 
then stopped at Beech Fork; they sta3''ed there about two 
hours, and went back again to Beech Grove; the}'' did not dis- 
perse, because we would hear of the killing of men in the 
country, and they all stayed together. 

Q. You don't know anything about the fighting? 

A. No ; no more than what I heard; then I came in on Tues- 
day morning, and got within two miles of town, and met about 
two hundred cavahy, white men, armed with sixteen-shooters 
and shot guns, and so on; they took me; I was with Mr. Bel- 
linger, a white man, whom^I caught up with on the road; I met 
Scarbo, and I met Captain Reed's company; they did not in- 
terfere with me, but rather protected me; Captain Reed did ; 
then I came on to Captain Hogan's company, and there was 
quite a number of them; W. Wiley, and a man named Vaughn, 



80 

and others; they threatened to shoot me; I came on in, and 
Mr. Wiley came on and followed me; I heard him say to 
Hogan: " Get out of the way, and let me shoot the son of a 
bitch," and Hogan said: "No, come on, put him in jail;" so 
they ]uit me in jail; Vhen I got here there were about two 
thousand of them here; some hollowed ''hang him," and some 
" shoot him ;" I was put in jail then, and stayed in there six 
da3's; they took m}- horse and rode him that da}^; a horse that 
I would not have taken less than two hundred dollars for; 
they rode him down to the Bluff, and he got wounded; after 
riding him sixteen miles to the Bluff, they rode him right back 
again; the}^ rode hira some sixty miles. 

Q. He was considerably injured ? 

A. Yes; they had to leave him up on State street to keep 
him from foundering; I did not find that horse until two days 
after getting out of jail ; and then he had fallen away; he 
seemed to be hide-bound; it cost me seven dollars to get him 
out of the stable; I have the order I got from Col. French to 
get him out; I have also letters from the country, that I had 
better not come back there; there is no Justice of the Peace 
there now; I have been part of the time dodging around to 
keep out of the way. 

Q. Do 3'ou think that the colored people who came into town 
on Monday, the 7th of December, were coming in for the pur- 
pose of doing any outrage ? 

A. No; they understood that they had been called in here; 
when they had received that call, and understood that Court 
was broken up, the men who elected the officers, proposed to 
be here when Court opened; they did not expect to have any 
difliculty. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. What were they instructed to bring their arms for, if 
they did nut expect trouble ? 

A. Well, Crosby stated to me that he did not expect any 
trouble. 

Q. Why were 3'ou instructed to bring your guns with 3'ou. 
then ? 

A. Well, I myself 

Q. When people go to town to trade, or go to church, do 
they usuallj- take their guns with them ? 

A. Well, some do, and some do not. 

Q. Is it customary for a large body of men to come together 
on the road in arms ? 

A No; that is not customary. 

Q. That is an unusual case ? 

A. Of course; because, it is not often men are just out of 
office; I tell you the colored men thought— or the Republi- 
cans, white and colored; and a majority of the Republicans 
are colored, and what few whites there are in the party at times 
like that, the}^ are scarce — now, the colored men thought, that 



81 

inasmuch as the white men — or Democrats — could come in 
and take the Republicans out of office at will; if the}' could 
do that, wh}^ of course, that it was their (the colored men's) 
place to be here and know how that thing was done. 

Q. Now, what did you intend to do; what did colored peo- 
ple intend to do here ? 

A. It was not the understanding that there was to be any 
guns brought, until just when I heard of this case on Satur- 
da}-; it was understood that they were to have been liere, 
whether Crosb}^ had called them or not, to see what had taken 
place; the news had got out, and the men would have been 
here anyhow. 

Q. Did you meet on the road any wagons, and colored men 
in waojons ? 

A. I met one wagon. 

Q. I have heard that they were coming in with wagons and 
sacks ? 

A.. I met one wagon with a load of cotton, and one with a 
load of seed. 

Q. Did the white people here appear to be excited on the 
7th of December? 

A. Indeed they did; men were rushing together with their 
guns and other things, fixing for a fight. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. You said you have an order given to yon for j^our horse. 

A. Yes. 

[The following documents produced by this witness were 
ordered filed:] 

Headquarters Fourth Regiment,) 
ViCKSBURG, Dec. 16, 1874. j 
L. C. Calkins, Esq.: 

You will please return to Geo. W. Stith, his pistol, which he 
says you took from him fcr safe keeping. 

(Signed) William French, 

Col. Coindg. 

ViCKSBURG, Dec. 16, 1874 
Mr. Leonard : 

You will please turn over to Geo. W. Stith, his horse, he to 
pay you charges. 

(Signed) William French, 

Col. Com'dg. 
circular. 

Headquarters 4th Regiment ) 

Warren County Militia, >- 

ViCKSBURG Miss., Dec. 16, 1874. ) 

No person is authorized to search houses or take arms from 



82 

private citizens ; and any person so doing, without written 
orders from these headquarters, will be punished according to 
law. 

By order of 

William French, 

Colonel Commanding. 
W. A. Fairohild, 

Adjutant. 

EPHRAIM POWELL, 

Being duly sworn, says : \^Examination in Chief. '\ 

Q. Where do you live ? 

A. At Freetown, Warren county, about seven miles from 
Vicksburg. 

Q. Where were you on the 7th of December, the day of the 
riot ? 

A. I was going into town, and when I got to the hill, about 
two miles from town, the}^ commenced shooting ; we heard the 
shooting ; we got to the hill, about two miles from town, and 
the people commenced shooting at us ; the white men from the 
city did ; we looked over on the hill, and the white people 
were surrounding us ; some staid there, but I left, and when 
I went back a crowd of white people met us ; they came on 
hollowing, and the}- hemmed us in ; I jumped through the 
fence, and then one bullet struck me on the hand, and another 
here ; I run through the fence to the Shirley house, and stayed 
there until the}^ got through there ; and then four or five of us 
went home ; this man. Buck World, they killed near Edwards' 
yard ; he run into Edwards' 3"ard, and the}^ took him out of 
there and killed him ; I stayed in the cane all night, and when 
I came out I walked right out on this dead man. 

Q. Was this man armed when he was killed ? 

A. Yes ; he was standing in the yard with his gun in his 
hand ; he was running from them ; he ran there for protection. 

Q. Had he fired at any one ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Were you armed when you came in toward town? 

A. Yes ; I had side-arms. 

Q. Were you coming in to get in a fight ? 

A. No, sir; I had seen Crosby's son ok Sunda}^ and he told 
me that he clid not expect any fight, but for every one to come; 
we had our women ana children with us, and every one was 
coming in ; I had a white flag up for fear the people would 
think we were coming to have trouble ; we had it on a pole, 
and some one shot through it. 

Q. How many were killed of your party ? 

A. Four, sir ; two were killed in the fight, and then they 
came up and killed the others. 

Q. What were the names of those who were killed? 



83 

A. Wash. Tinsey and Buck World ; the two others, I forget 
their names ; Joe McGraw was killed ; two of them were from 
Freetown, and two lived a quarter of a mile from there. 

Q. On theda}^ you were coming into town, 3^ou say, that two 
were killed ? 

A. Yes, three were killed on the road. 

Q. Were they armed, when killed ? 

A. This old man — sixty or eighty years old — he did'nt have 
any gun, but Joe. McGraw had a pistol on him. 

Q. Was he firing that pistol ? 

A. No; he was running — trying to hide. 

Q. He was hiding when he was killed ? 

A. He was running to hide; Buck World was killed the 
next day; they came to his house after him. 

Q. He was killed at Freetown the da}^ after the riot? 

A. "Yes 

Q.' Who killed him ? 

A. I did'nt see the gun kill him. 

Q. Who came to the house after him ? 

A. I don't know; when they came so close to me, I ran, but 
there were women and children that staid there. 

Q. Were they white men or colored men who shot him ? 

A. All white men; I was running, and they were shooting 
behind me. 

Q. Buck World was not in town on the day of the riot ? 

A. No, sir; bqt we were ail coming toward town. 

Q. You came within three miles of town ? 

A. Yes; Crosby told us all to come in, 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. Do you know who killed that man in your yard? 

A. It was a white man that came out ; they met me in the 
road; they came yelling, on their horses, and T ran through 
the fence, and the}'- shot me through the hand ; Buck World, 
he ran to Edwards', for protection, and the people there told 
the men there to take him out of the yard, and they took him 
out of the yard and killed him; I stayed in the cane; and 
when I came out, I walked right on that dead man; this man, 
Buck World, had six children — all girls. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. How far do j^ou live from here? 

A. Seven miles from here. 

Q. What is your profession ? 

A. I am a farmer, and trader, and store^keeper. 

Q. Were you at the preaching, the Sunday before the diffi- 
culty ? 

A. I am a preacher, myself. 

Q. You were not at preacliing on that Sunda}^ ? 

A. I was at the breaking up of the church. 

Q. Was there any card read, of Crosby's, on that Sunday, at 
church ? 



84 

A. There was a paper read, that Crosby said that we all 
must come in on Monday, that there would not be any fuss. 
Q. Was the paper printed or written ? 
A. It was printed. 

Q. Would you know that paper if you saw it? 
A. Yes, I believe so. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Can you read and write ? 
A. Yes. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. Did Crosby say in that paper, that there would not be 
any difficulty? 

A. No; he told them to come; the paper said *' come one, 
and all." 

Q. Was that paper very denunciator}- or bitter against a 
certain class of people ? 

A. No; there was no abuse against anybody; he only told 
us, one and all, to come in on Monday; there was no abuse in 
that paper. 

Q. Was there a proclamation read also from Governor Ames ? 

A. No; not that day; there was a piece read from a news- 
paper from Governor Ames. 

Q. What was read from Governor Ames ? 

A. They read a piece in a newspaper that said what he said. 

Q. Did you say, a few minutes ago, that there was a procla- 
mation from Governor Ames read ? 

A. So it was said, there in the paper. 

Q. What was said in the paper ? 

A. It said this: No one come in ; it was for peace 

and no fuss; that no fuss should be made, and that if any riot 
was raised, it would be controlled by him. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. Did 3'ou not say, a few minutes ago, that there was a 
proclamation read from Governor Ames ? 

A. They took out a newspaper and read the proclaynation 
from the Governor; and he said, "if an^^thing was to occur, it 
would be controlled by him; and for all to go on in a harmo- 
nious way in peace, and there would not be anything done." 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. When this man got up on that Sunday, whose proclama- 
tion did he read first — the Governor's or Peter Crosby's ? 

A. I believe the other piece was read first, and this was last; 
the handbill was read first, and then the newspaper. 

Q. What did the man, who read it, sa}- about it? 

A. I could not say all that he said; it was a long piece; he 
read — Sanson. 

Q. What did the man sav, who read it — Sanson? 



85 

A. I told 3^ou what he said. 

Q. Did he make any speech about it ? 

A. No; it was outside of church, while the people were 
eavinc:. 

Q. You understood that 3'ou were all ordered to town ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Who did j'-ou iinderstand that 3-ou were ordered to town 
by? 

A. Peter Crosb3^ 

Q. What did j^ou understand that you were ordered here for ? 

A. He said, he expected to go in his seat on Monday, quietly 
and peaceablj^; he wanted the people all to come; so every- 
one came, women and children, and all the crowd; there were, 
I suppose, ten little children along with us. 

Q. Did you have any arms with }-ou ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Is it customary for ministers of the Gospel to carr}^ arms ? 

A. No; but we came, if any attack was made, to defend our- 
selves. 

Q. Then, it not being customary for ministers of the Gospel 
to go armed, how came yo\i to be so on that particular oc- 
casion ? 

A. They told us to fetch our arms with us, in order to de- 
fend ourselves. 

Q. Who told 3'ou to bring them ? 

A. Peter Crosb3\ 

Q. He told 3'ou to bring your arms ? 

A. Yes ; and he said he did not think there would be any 
fuss. 

Q. Did 3-ou not think there would be a fuss if you went 
armed ? 

A. No ; 3^ou could not have got all those old women and 
children along if they had thought that there would be a fight; 
my wife was along. 

Q. Did vou think, b3' the reading of that paper, that Gov. 
Ames had ordered you to come here through Sheriff Crosby? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. What did the Governor order you to do ? 

A. If an3^thing was done like a fuss it was to be put down 
by him. 

Q. You say that you were in Yicksburg on Sunday, the 6th? 

A. Yes; and I saw Crosb3^ and talked with him about this 
difficulty; I saw this little handbill that was brought by San- 
son; and, on Sunday, it was m3' turn to go to Morris', and I 
told them that I would go to town and see what was going on 
myself. 

Q. You came to town on Sunday ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And 3'ou saw Crosby ? 

A. Yes ; I went to his house. 

Q. State what conversation 3'ou had with him. 



86 

A. I asked him what was the matter, on account of this 
statement of his; he said, "he was in hopes that there would 
be no fuss, and he thpiight to-morrow morning that he would 
take his place quietly; but, he said: "I want everybody to 
uome in; to see that when I make a call thej^come; but I don't 
think there will be an}- fuss." 

Q. You belonij to a club ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did you all have a club meeting on this occasion ? 

A. There was a club meeting held on the Friday before ; on 
that occasion I was not present; I was at m}'" store; had 
not time to go ; it was on that occasion that word had come 
out from Crosby; the meeting was called to talk som.- 
thing about it; I was not present; I was at my house. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. When you came down to see Crosby, he told you that 'if 
there was any difficulty Gov. Ames would have it put down ? 

A. No, sir; he did not sa}^ anything about that; that was 
stated in the paper, 

WII.LIAM SCOTT, 

Being dul}^ sworn, saj's; \^Mxamination in Chief,'] 

Q. Where do yow live ? 

A. At Mount Albon, in Warren county, eight miles from 
Vicksbnrg ; that is, I lived there; I have moved away since the 
light; I have carried my wife and family away. 

Q. What is 3'our occupation ? 

A. I am a farmer. 

Q. What do you know about the disturbance in the city of 
Vicksburg on the 7th of December, 1874? 

A. On the Saturday before the fight on Monday, I was in 
town here, coming in for bagging and ties; I saw Sheriff 
Crosby on the street; I had heard a great many complaints; 
on Saturday I heard the rebels in the countr}^ say that they 
had taken him out of his office; I saw Crosby on Washington 
street, and said to him: " What is your trouble?" .He said; 
"Yes, I am in trouble." tasked: "What is the matter?" 
He said: " Thev have taken me out of my office." I said: 
"What do you" think to do about it?" He said: "I don't 
know; 3'ou men, who put me in office, it is for you to say; I 
ought to ask you." And he said: "They have threatened my 
life with vengeance, if I did not resign, and I had to do it." I 
said: "What must we all do?" Then he asked: "Have 3^ou 
seen the proclamation in the Plain Dealer?''' I said: "No." 
He then stepped back in the post-office and got the Plain 
Dealer with the proclamation in it, and he said: "They have 
taken me out of my office." I then took two copies of the 
Plain Dealer^ and a proclamation in each, and took them in 



87 

the countrj' to show to the people in the country, to be read to 
the people ; I did so on Sunda}^; went around and showed it to 
the men; there was a great gathering at Mount Albon, and it 
was read and explained to thera there; when I was in town I 
asked Crosby what was he going to do on Monday. He said: 
" I don't know, but the rebels will all be here on Monday." I 
asked him: "Will we come?" He said: "Yes." I said: 
" Well, they are mighty sauc}^ and bold out in the country, 
riding around with sixteen -shooters, and they say that they are 
coming in here armed, to Ivill every damned negro that comes 
in here on Monday." He said: "Well, I don't want to have 
any fighting or disturbance, but we want you all at the Court- 
house on Monda}^ morning, at ten o'clock ; and you must come 
in." We did so; on the road that I came in on there were 
about a hundred and seventy colored men; they met at differ- 
ent points, from each farm, and came in together; when I got 
here, at the Pemberton monument, I met Mr. Stith, and 
asked him what was the matter; I had heard the bells ringing ; 
he said that the rebels were all over Washington street, with 
guns; I then told my boys: "It won't do to go in there; we 
have no arms; they will kill us all in a pile." We 
then stopped outside of the limits of the town, about 
an hour; then over on the Grove street road — we were up on 
a hill, where we could see over there; firing commenced on the 
Grove street road ; we stood and looked at it ; they were fight- 
ing down town; I looked over the place where I stood and saw 
a lot of colored men running; I took them to be colored men; 
and in about twenty minutes there came fifteen or twenty 
colored people from toward where they had been fighting, on 
to the road where I was, with guns in their hands; Andrew 
Owens had been into town to see Crosby, he came back, and 
Doctor Shannon and Doctor Hunt came with him; he said that 
Peter Crosby said, for him to go home with his men; they 
started back, and the white men fired into them and scattered 
them; after a while they fired back; after they got into the 
cane they fired back on the white men; I said to those, who 
had come up near where we were: "What did you run over 
here for, with just enough guns to make them shoot at us ; 
and we are not armed ?" There were fifteen of those men 
with guns, that came over where we were. 

Q. And you told them to leave that place? 

A. I tried to drive thera all away from me; and I thought 
they were all gone; but the first thing I knew, the white men 
came up and fired into our men, that were there unarmed. 

Q. How many were killed ? 

A. I saw three men killed; one dropped down in the fight; 
I saw one killed from fighting, and the others Doctor Quinn 
killed. 

Q. Who was Doctor Quinn ? 

A. Doctor Quinn here in town, 

Q. A wli^te man ? 



88 

A. Yes ; he came up with the white men ; he killed Banks 
find his son; he called Banks out of his house to hold his 
horse; these fellows then were running, and he was sliooting 
after them, while old man Banks was holding his horse; then 
Banks' son came out of the house — his own house — and I saw 
Doctor Quinn shoot at him; he shot three times at him, and 
just as he came to the cane, he fell. 

Q. How old was the bo^' that was killed ? 

A. He was not grown; I don't know how old he was. 

Q. He was unarmed ? 

A. He was not armed ; then when Doctor Quinn came back 
to his horse, he told Banks, "get out there;" and when he got 
out a piece, he (Doctor Quinn) drew up his gun and shot him 
down. 

Q. Did he kill him ? 

A. Of course; he fell immediate!}' the gun cracked; I never 
saw him move any more; at this time, I was in a house — a 
colored man's house, named Henry McClain; then they came 
up to the house where I was, and said: "Have you got 
any arms in here, you men?" I said "No, sir; we have 
none." He asked: "Have you not been to town; have 
you not been in the fight?" I told him "No;" he said, 
"Have you not been to town?" I told him "No;" then they 
shot at me three times; but did not hit me; then one of the 
men ran up and said, " If we cannot kill him by shooting him, 
we will cut his throat;" then Mr. Yerger stopped him from 
killing me; he said, " Y'^ou shall not hurt that man; I know he 
means no harm, and he has got no arms ; " then they ordered 
the men to take us prisoners, and carry us to some safe place; 
there were about fifteen of us in that house, and around it; 
tliree in the house; then they took and carried us to jail ; we 
got caught there; they marched us out in the road, and then 
the little boys run up to us and jabbed their hands in our 
pockets — white boys — and said, " Let us see if they have any 
pistols; " they got what money I had in my pocket ; some one 
got out a hundred dollars that 1 had in my coat-tail pocket, 
that I had just got together. 

Q. For cotton ? 

A. Y''es; some from a man that had owed me a debt and paid 
me, and some was cotton moneys they kept me in jail eight or 
nine days, I think it was ; they kept me in jail four days first, 
and then they could not prove anything against me, and turned 
me out; and then John Newman caught me on Washington 
street, and brought me back ; I staid there the balance of the 
time to make out the nine days; he told them to keep me here 
till he came after me. 

Q. Who is John Newman ? 

A. A white man living down on Black river. 

Q. Was he an officer ? 

A. No; he was not an officer that I know of; at dark he 
came after me again, and wanted me turned out to ^o home; I 



89 

thought there was something wrong about that, and I would 
not go. 

Q. Were 3^ou afraid that if tliey turned you out you would 
be killed ? 

A. Yes; he told me that evening, when he was marching me 
up the street, that he was going to fix me; the next evening, 
after dark, about seven o'clock, he came for me again to be 
turned out, and said he would guarantee that no one should 
hurt me. 

Q. But you did not like his guarantee? 

A. jSo, sir. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. Had you never had any difficulty with him before ? 

A. Not with him, but with his cousin; m}' wife she came in 
in a few da^'S to see where I was, and told me that they were 
riding all through the country hunting for me; fat they 
wanted to kill me, and that they had taken my double-barrel 
shot-gun and my pistol. 

Q. You left your arms at home then ? 

A. Yes; thej^ kept me in jail till I like to have died; they 
did not half feed me. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Cnn you give the names of those who were killed ? 

A. They did not belong to my party of men; old man Banks 
and his son were shot, and a man named Louis McKinne}^, that 
lived at Freetown; I saw him fall; and I saw one white man 
lall; I suppose you don't want his name. 

Q. VYliat was his name ? 

A. Brown; he lived at Sn3'der's Bluff; I think the white 
men killed him. 

Q. By mistake ? 

A. Yes; he was between two fires when he was shot; I think 
the white men shot him ; the colored men were running when 
he fell; I know the}' did not kill him on purpose, because he 
was considered a great man among them. 

Q. Were there any other men killed in j^our neighborhood ? 

A. I never have been out to see; when my wife came in she 
said: ''You must break up there and leave, those white men 
are determined to kill you." I asked her: " Must I sell out ?" 
She said, " ves ;" and. on last Saturda}--, she sold out the prop- 
erty the best she could; she did not get hardl}^ anything for 
it; I had to sacrifice it; I did not get what it was worth. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. Your name is William Scott ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How long have 3'ou lived here in this county ? 

A. About eight years. 

Q, How far did you live from town ? 



90. 

A. Eight miles; at the second station; at Mount Albon. 

Q. You say, there were about a hundred and seventy men in 
your part^^ on that Monday ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And you all did not have any arms ? 

A. No; only I saw some men have pistols with them. 

Q. You are sure there were no guns in your party ? 

A. Yes; I am sure that it was only those fifteen men who 
got scattered from the others on the other road. 

Q. You stated in your direct examination that you did not 
have any guns or arms in 3'our part}^ ? 

A. None; except pistols ; there were a few pistols among 
them. 

Q. Then you were mistaken, when you said they were not 
armed ? 

A. Yes; as far as that goes; but I don't consider side arms 
of any use for fighting. 

Q. What are pistols made for, if not for fighting ? / 

A. They are made for fighting, but not for war. 

Q. What did you come into town for on that day ? 

A. Well, Mr. Crosby said that: "the white men are coming 
to put me out of office, and I would like for you colored peo- 
ple to come and see how it is done;" I requested to know of 
him how, and he said: "Well, come and see it." 

Q. Now, in your conversation with Crosby, did he not tell 
you to come armed ? 

A. No. 

Q. Where were you on Sunday, the 6th of December ? 

A. I was at church at Mount Albon. 

Q. Who preached there that day ? 

A. I dis remember. 

Q. What was the man's name that read those proclamations ? 

A. That Was Cassel. 

Q. Who was the proclamation from ? 

A. From Governor Ames. 

Q. Both proclamations ? 

A. They were both the same— no, they were not; one was 
Crosby's card, and the other was that proclamation from Gov- 
ernor Ames. 
' Q. What did he say about those proclamations — ^Cassel ? 

A. Well, you know, colored people are not educated, and 
don't understand so well, and he went on to explain; aome 
of them asked him what did it mean — did it mean to 
fight; and he said: "Don't any of 3-ou go up there with 
arms; 3^ou colored men are not prepared for fighting, and if 
you go there with what few old squirrel guns and what metal 
double-barrel shot-guns you have got, 3'Ou will all get killed; 
that is m3^ notion about it; you all can do as 3'ou please " 
and, sa3's he, "that is all that these rebels want, for tlie Re- 
publican party to make an efl'brt." 

Q. Who do you mean by rebels ? 



91 

A. The Southern people here. 

Q. Where were you born ? 

A. In Kentucky. 

Q. You are a Southern man, too, then ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do 3'ou call yourself a Rebel, then ? 

A. No; I am not; I don't mean any disrespect by the word. 

Q. But you are a Southern man yourself ? 

A. Yes; but then we differ in politics. 

Q. I thought the people who differed with j-ou in politics 
were Democrats ? 

A. Yes; but then we have two names for them. 

Q. Rebels is your club name for them ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. When did you last have a club meeting at Mou^^t Albon ? 

A. I am not able to tell you ; we liave not had a club meet- 
ing there since the riot they got up in July. 

Q. Have you any information as to how these proclamations 
came to be read in churches all over the county on that day ? 

A. I don't know whether they were or not. 

Q. Is it customary for your people to read political papers 
in church ? 

A. No. 

Q. That is iinusual ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You don't know how it came to be done on that Sunday ? 

A. I don''t know whether it was done anywhere else except 
where I was. 

Q. You took the proclamations to Mount Albon ? 

A. I did. 

Q. Yoo directed them to be read ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You gave them to Cassel to read ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And you sa3' that it is not customary to read political 
papers in church ? 

A. No, it is not. 

Q. Did Crosby suggest that ? 

A. He told me to carry them to the people, and I told him, 
*' to-morrow is church day." 

Q. The understanding between you then, was that they were 
to be read at church ? 

A. Yes ; that the rebels were coming in at ten o'clock, to 
drive him out, and he wanted us to be there and see how it 
was done. 

Q. Had he not told you before, that he had resigned ? 

A. No ; he said, right then, that he was forced to resign, and 
he did not think that it was legally' done; he said that he 
woukl be at the Court-house on Monday morning. 

Q. What did he say that he was going to be at the Court- 
house for ? 



92 

A. lie (lid not say ; he said he would take his seat ; he said 
that lie would be at the Court-liouse. 

Q. I lliink you said that lio was going to take his seat on 
iMond.'iy? 

A. If I said tiiat, I did not mean that. 

Q. How tar was it from where you were, over to the Grove 
street road, on that day ? 

A. I don't know ; about a quarter of a mile; I was on a 
high place, where I could see tlieni plainly. 

Q. Could you see what kind of guns the white men had ? 

A. No, but I eould sec the guns. 

Q. You could tell a gun from a stick, at that distance ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. A quarter of a mile off? 

A. Yes, they glistened so. 

Q. Did the}' have bayonets on ? 

A. No, not when I lirst saw them; but when they were 
making the chai-ge, they i)ut them on. 

Q. Did the}' get close enough to hurt any one, when they 
made that charge ? 

A. No. 

Q. You saw them [)ut their ba3'onets on ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You could see the ba3'onets, at that distance? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And you sa»v them when thoy i)ut the bayonets on ? 

A. Yes.' 

Q And that was a rpiarter of a mile off ? 

A. No ; not when lliey put the bnyonets on, they were not. 

C^. llow far were they oil" then, when they put the bayonets 
on ? 

A. About a hundred and fifty yards. 

Q. You sa}', you saw Doctor Quinn ride up and give his 
horse to old man Banks to hold ? ^ 

A. Yes. ^ 

Q. And you were in a house, then? 

A. Yes; looking out at the door ; the door was wide open. 

Q. Was Ranks at his house ? 

A Yes; he and his son were at his house. 

C^. Wjis the position of the house so that 3'ou could stand 
in the door and see Hanks' house ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. The door opened towards his house ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do the houses stand I'ight on the road, on the same side? 

A. Yes; one fifteen steps ot! the road, and the other right 
on the load. 

Q. Do the doors open towards tlie road ? 

A. Ves. 

Q In both houses ? 

A. Yes; the door 1 was standing at was the back door, and 



the door of that room came right ia front of Banks' house 
door; two doors came together, faced each another. 
Q. Then that door was in the end of the house ? 
A. Yes; the back door of the house I was in fronted the 
front door of Banks' house. 

Q. And the houses were both on the same side of the road ? 
A. Yes. 

Q. What door did Banks' son come out of? 
A. The front door of Banks' house; and when he came out 
in the yard, about four steps from the door, Doctor Quinn 
went to shooting at him, and the boy ran, and made for the 
cane; just as the bo}^ got to the edge of the cane, I saw him 
fall; lie did not fall in the cane, only just inside of the cane; 
he fell right in the edge of the cane; one part of the body in 
the cane and the other outside; his head fell in the cane. 

Q. Did you know that he was hit ? 

A. I knew it the way he fell; he fell at the crack of the gun. 

Q. You only looked at him a minute; you don't know 
whether he ever got up again or not ? 

A. No; 1 knew he was killed by Doctor Quinn being satis 
fied. 

Q. You say you looked at him about a minute ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You did not look at him more than a minute ? 

A. No. 

Q. You don't know whether he got up any more? 

A. No; he was killed by his lying there. 

Q. You know he was killed because he did not aret up ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. That is, he did not get up for that minute, while you 
were looking at him from that door ? 

A. Yes; and I have since heard that he was killed. 

Q. But you don't know it ? 

A. Nd more than I saw him fall, and did not see him get up 
again. 

Q. Would you be willing to swear that he was killed right 
there and then ? 

A. Yes ; I would. 

Q. You say that Crosby gave you the Plain Dealer^ with 
this proclamation in it ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were both proclamations in it ? 

A. I had two papers, and there was one in each. 

Q. And then you had the card besides? 

A. Yes; Crosby's card. 

Q. Was that card calculated to make the colored people 
excited ? 

A. I don't know; they did not appear to be. 

Q. Was it not very denunciatory against the "rebels," as 
vou call them? 
In— 8 



94 

A. No; be said the people of the city had rushed him out 
of oflice. 

Q. His card was not denunciatory, you say? 

A. No, sir; it was a ver}^ pleasant thing. 

Q. But Governor Ames' proclamation was a little bitter ? 

A. I think it was. 

Q. You thought that was pretty rough ? 

A. Pretty roughly worded. 

Q. But you ssij that Crosby's card was very mild ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. But Governor Ames' card was a little bitter ? 

A. A little rough ; yes, sir. 

Q. Do 3^ou think that the Governor intended to excite the 
colored people by his proclamation ? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Your people did not seem to be excited ? 

A. They were excited as quick as they heard the proclama- 
tion; Crosby's card was read first. 

Q. From the harshness of the language of the proclamation, 
you thought that it meant something? 

A. Yes; there was one thing in that proclamation — thj^t the 
roiters had to disperse. 

Q. What did you understand by that? 

A. I uaderstood, that all men who meant fighting, should 
lay down their arms and go home about their business. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Did you say, you met Ephraim Powell and his crowd, 
coming in ? 

A. i did not meet them; we came together on the road. 

Q. How many women and children did Ephraim Powell have 
in his crowd? 

A. I did not take any notice; but I saw women that were 
coming into the city; I suppose they thought there was no 
harm to be done; and they generally came in to peddle chickens, 
and so on . 

Q. Was there a large crowd of women and children with 
you? 

A. No. 

Q. Was there a large crowd of women and children with 
him ? 

A. No; I don't think there was; I saw five or six passing 
with tlicir greens, chickens and eggs, going to town. 

Q. Did tliey have all their children with them ? 

A. No, -sir; thej' did not. 

Q. What was the first thing that Doctor Quinn did when 
Banks was holding his horse? 

A. As soon as he turned the bridle over his head and called 
on Banks to hold his horse, then the boy stepped to the door, 
and the boy stepped about four steps from the door, Doctor 



95 

Quinn shot at him three times; the boy broke and run, when 
he fired at him first. 

Q. How many times did he shoot at the boy's father? 

A. One time. 
* Q. What kind of a gon did Doctor Quinn have ? 

A. It appeared to be one of these sixteen-shooters. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. State whether or not you have ever heard at preaching, 
on Sunday, announcements made for political meetings or 
speaking ? 

A. I have. 

Q. How often ? 

A. At two or three diflJ'erent times. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

'Q. May you not be mistaken about the Governor's procla- 
mation and Crosby's card, as to their character and meaning ? 
A. I might; but I have stated what I believe. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. Did you not notice how many women and children there 
were with Powell ? 

A. No; T did not. 

The Committee adjourned until to-morrow, January 1, 1875, 
at 10 o'clock, A. M. 



FIFTH DAY. 

ViCKSBURG, January 1, 1875. 

The Committee met pursuant to adjournment; all the mem- 
bers being present. 

TESTIMONY OF W. B. LEWIS. 

[^Examination in chief. ~\ 

Q. You are a member of the Board of Supervisors of the 
county of Warren ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. State where you live. 

A. At Newtown, Warren county, Mississippi. 

Q. State what you know about the riot that occurred in 
Vicksbu rg on the 7th of December, 1874. 

A. Well, what I know about it is this: We heard the 



m 

rmiHtrrt oit llio 7tlt oi' \h'V{^m\)ci\ in l\\i\ cwniu^^ on Siinday, 
titn Olli; 1 nictin wtt luuu'd tlio ninun'H; wi^ huw h card tlial whh 
iii|uhI«mI lo conit* iVtun CrnHliy, l,lu< Sluuill, lliiil wix or ntn'tui 
Itinidi'ctI men liud i-omc and tiikiMi Ids olllfo away tVoni Inin, 
and ot.liorwiHo inoli*Httid him; tukiui him violently IVoni hin 
(il)ii-c, and lliat hr had lut <»(.Ii(M' Kuncdy hdt, (^\('(*plin>4 this, to 
i'(^Mi^n) tli(^ poriition; and thu piHtpIc, upon h(«Mrin>^ that thoy 
WiWtf invittnl to lumio to town, th(«y did nttt know witat it waH 
t'tn', Uo «lid n»d. May whrtluT in oonio lor war or to coini^ for 
juMu-i\ only to ('oin(« to town to hoo uhont thu tronbloH that had 
oiunrrod; and, t>n Monday uuu'nin^, a good nian^' of tho puo- 
pli* in lh«< nci^hhorlumd agriuul to conio U> town; Honio of 
thtin (MinHnlttul with nu^ and (tthor partii^s artuind thtue ; 1 
told (luMn that it wonid l>o ratluu' dangoronH to go to town if 
lluMi^ \\i\H that many nuui in t(»wn, ami they intiMulcd tt> ll^ht; 
that wo wtu't^ not prt^parcd, and had no rt^gnlar, unilorm order 
to rtnnt^ t«) t«»wn, that thoy lind lu^ttor wait nnlil thoy oouhl 
tnH'^ nnno ahont tho matttw, and know l»ott(>r what to do; at 
tho tiiiiiw timo I hail got two or throo mt>asagt*s from twt> or 
IhrtHi partioM in N'iiktslmrg; Major I'axt-on and l>r. Shannon 
roqnorttotl mo to tunno t»» town, tolling mo that tlun-o woidd be 
a mooting »»f tho Hoaul of SnporviHor.s on 'I'nosday t>r Wi'dnoH- 
ilay on tlu^ \H\\, I think, or tin* vSih; I Maid that nndor thooir- 
inunstanotm and oondititm t>f atfidrs, 1 {\U\ not fool myaolf nafe 
to go; that I w«Mdd not bo allowtul to t^xtu'olso n)y own jndg- 
imMtt in tho maltor, and 1 knt^w that I wonld ni^t do othorwino, 
nnlosM I was poworK^ss; thortd'oro, I saiil that I wonld m>t oiuuo; 
»o I I'onobubul that I had ludtiM'stay away from tlu^ oily until tho 
oity got. bolltu- Ht^ttUnl; it wonld nv>t lu^safo; alTorwards 1 lu'urd 
that tluMH^ had bt^^m a tight horo in tho oity, and a nnmbor of 
lu^opU^ from our sotthunont had atttMupttul to oomo to tho oity; 
I tttartod with tlu^m, aftor I had adxisod tluMn not to oomo; 1 
tohl thorn that tho piH>plo In town had rotiuostotl a mooting to 
bo ludil <d' thi^ ni»aril id' SnpiMvisi»rs, ami that if >vo wore to 
nn^ot and got ti>gt^thor horo, tlu«r<^ wonld not bo ujoro than two 
or thr<H< ptH»plo kilUnl; and thit it woulil bo bettor for that 
nmnbor to bt^ kilUul than for tho whole of tliom to go; so 1 
avlvisoil tluMU n\>t to I'omo with mo, but to gv> myself and at- 
tend tho mooting id* tho lioanl; and u\\ father oonoluded logo 
with me; wo wont, and iiu^t twi* or throe white men on tho 
ri>ad, thoy oov^ked their gnns and haltiul us; tlu^y saiil {o mo; 
" You ilamnovl son of a bltoli, p\dl otf your hat;" 1 did ao; 
and they saiil; "(Jive tue yiujr arms;" I tohl them that I had 
noihing but a poi^kot pisud ; then they said io i\\\ father: 
*• Tull oif your hat, you ilamuod si>u o( a bitoh;" my father 
said: ••>Vhat right have I to pull otV my liat for you ?" Ho 
»alvl : " I will Uinkoyou i\o it." I said to tho oM uk>ui ; " You 
havl belter pull otf your hat" Ho then said to him: "Give 
luo vimr aruvs." 'live ivhl man said: "I have nothing but a 
povdvot knife;" ai\d ho «howod it to them; the man said: "Wo 
Uon't want thttt," 



t)7 
Q. Who ware, thnsn nn*ii \<hi hk I, ? 

A. Olio WUH ^v«l|>t. (jIIIIIIHII. 

Q. Wctiu they white or colored V 

A. WhitfMUCMi; tUo.y uHkcd run wImtc I w;i.m ^v"";^i * •"l<l 
thfiii l,h;il, I vvuH ^';"'"r5 •'" Vi<kHlMir,L(; liicy then iihlo'd fii«*, wliiit 
for? I told IIm'Hi that I wum ii rruunlMT of the, lioar<l ol' Knper- 
viHoi'H, iiiid that I iindtiTHtood that th(!r<! w.'ih to he n. irn'ctlnp^ 
of th<: Ho.'U'd that duvs <i-)id ho I caiiH! in, and ixihlihhfd 
that r wtiH in tf»wn, and ready to moot the Jioaid. He Haid to 
nic: *' Voii daninod Hcoiindrc'l, you b('h)nj^ to th(! Davenport 
und ('roHhy rin^^." I naid, no; I did not. He Haid: "I liiiow 
all ahont tliat; wo oup(ht to eany yon in town under j^iiard," 
I Hai<l: **Thero ifl no need oC that, ^/iuilh-incn, I jiin ^^oinff 
there." Ho they waid : " (jIo nliead, and yon will nicct thucav 
ally on the road." We then went ahead, and nutt a whole lot 
of ni<n with ^iihh and piwtolH, ahont twenty five <»r thirty of 
thciii. 

Q. Who were thc'y ? 

A. Sonu! of thcni live j-icdit in ■»iii ii<i</hl)orhood. 

Q. Hive tlnii- naineH? 

A. Il;i,ny \lcn<\i:i>.<t\i, l'tu\Ai IJciidcrHon and UoImmI, II< nder- 
Bon. 

(l VV(n Ihcy white or colored ? 

A. Whit(; ni«!n; I did not know them all; there wan T. J. 
WilliamH and Mr. Milh-r; I don't know hin llrnt nann-; .lofm 
llan^rciHon, and anotht^', one that Htayn with him; I don't 
know hin luinie; th<^y wi'iu all in that eoinpany, and th<ty Hald 
tome: '*IIa,lt! hy Dod, tln^y ha,v<! ^ni you." I Hald : "No, 
nohody han j^ot me, I hion^ht myMcH' lnuc," lie Haid; " Are 
the IxiyH iMthind you eondn^ on — the net(roeH froni Nt'WtownV" 
I Haid: *' No, there an; no iM';jrro<',H from N(;wtown <romin^ here; 
we adviH<td them to Htay at home;" tln-ynaid; " liy (io<l, we 
avt', |jr<;|)ar(?d to meet them;" and then they paHwed on hy me. 

(•l Did you overtake a,ny (trowd of (vdorcd men romln^' to 
town, on that moinin,t( V 

A, No; I did not Hc^e any ; everybody, an I eame alonj^, wti'i 
at work. 

C|. TIiIh waH on what day V 

A, On the 8th or '.)th. 

Q, What waH the Htate of f(M*linjj; ;uiioii;„'^ \.\n: <!o!ored people 
In the eountry ? 

A. They did n'»l He(5m to l»e very rnneh ajoused, an<l tlw're 
wan no <txe,jtement at all. 

(.1 Wcn-e you presi^it as a inemlM r of i,|,c, li<>jud of Supervl- 
Horn when Croihy'H renlgnation wan ac-eepted ? 

A. VeH. 

Q, Htatit wlr* proHonted that llrHt reni^nation V 

A. I wan pr<;H(int wlum thct neeond waw pn'Hented; I wan not 
present wluju the (liHt reMli^nation wan prewe.ntttd; tlu^ He<',on<l 
reHi;j;natioii wan preHenti^l hy Oeneral I'aeker, and witin^HHed 
liy A. (i. I*aek(u- and O. H. Lee; CroNhy wan not prcBcnt; he 



98 

was in jail at the time; the President of the Board of Super- 
visors suggested, and said that there was something wrong 
about the signature of the resignation of Crosby; one of the 
reporters asked him what was wrong about it; he handed it to 
me to look at, and asked what I thought of it; I said : " I think 
it is his handwriting and signature;" and he asked the ques- 
tion, whether that would be evidence for him to receive as the 
resignation of Crosby of his office — he not being present; 
some of the citizens then spoke up, and suggested • 

Q. Give their names ? 

A. Judge Lea; Luke Lea said that it would not be safe for 
Crosby to come out; and C. K. Marshall said, that under the 
present circumstances and condition ol affairs, it would not be 
safe for Crosby to come out of the jail; that he was kept 
there for his own safety; and that his life might be taken, if 
he came out; the President of the Board, Mr. Walton, said, 
that according to his knowledge, the resignation would not be 
valid, unless Crosby came and tendered it in person; the ques- 
tion then arose; Judge Morris would come and tell them the 
same thing, that Crosby would resign the office a dozen times 
rather than his life should be taken. 

Q. Did 3^ou vote to accept the resignation of Crosby because 
you believed it was necessary in order to save his life ? 

A. I voted to accept his resignation, because I thought it 
would save his life, not that I believed that he resigned in 
good faith; I did not believe that at all ; I then asked in the 
meeting, would it not be best to appoint a committee to wait 
on Crosb}^ to find out whether he had resigned in good faith; 
the Board then said, that Judge IMorris said, that the commit- 
tee, if they were appointed, would be dared to say that Ciosby 
had not resigned in good faith, and that Crosby would be dared 
to say to the committe, that he had not resigned in good faith, 
and coolly and deliberately; that he was under arrest, and he 
had to do anything to save his life; it was a matter of life and 
death with him. 

Q. Do you think that the Board of Supervisors would have 
accepted the resignation of Crosb}^ under the circumstances, 
if it had not been for the state of excitement that existed 
about the Court house? 

A. No ; I would not have voted for it myself at that time, 
and I don't think an}^ member of the Board would ; we were 
under compulsion ourselves ; I myself was dared to say that I 
would not vote for it. 

Q. Who dared you to say that — give their names? 

A. There was no particular man that said so; but the part3% 
Dr. Shannon, C. K. Marshall, Dr. Bowman and Wm. A. Fair- 
child said that we could not do otherwise under the circum- 
stances and present condition of affairs. 

Q. Did they make any threats? 

A. No. 

Q. Did you understand that 3"0U would be safe, or that you 



99 

would be liable to injur}^, personall}', if yDu did not vote to 
accept Crosby's resignation? 

A. From what they had said to me before I had met the 
Board, I thought it would not be safe for me to vote against 
the acceptance of the resignation; they came togethiT, Dr. 
Bowman and Fairchild, and requested me to go to the Court- 
house with them, that the}^ wanted to see me safe there; I 
asked them, was the affairs of the city so critical that they had 
to see me safe in there; they said 3^es, the city had got to be in 
a terrible condition; men were here, the}' said, that did not 
know me, and they were liable to do something to me. 

Q. Did you infer from that remark, that some violence 
would probably be off'ered to you, if they did not come with 
you? 

A. Yes; I was dared; I would not have come unless they 
had told me that they would see me safe; the city was crowded 
with men; I did not know them from a side of sole leather; 
they were strangers to me; the Court-house yard was lined 
with them. 

Q. Were 3'ou present at the meeting of the Board in Octo- 
ber, at which Crosby presented his new bond as Sheriff and 
Tax Collector ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did you vote to accept Crosby's new bond as Sheriff and 
Tax Collector? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do you think a majorit}^ on that occasion was satisfied of 
the solvenc}^ of the bond presented by Crosb}' ? 

A. Yes; they did it on that ground, that the bond was suffi- 
cient; and the opposite side, the Democratic party, agreed that 
the bond was sufficient. 

Q. Who agreed that it was sufficient ? 

A. Major McGruder, their representative ; he made the cal- 
culation, and agreed that it was sufficient. 

Q. A great many of the sureties on that bond do not live in 
Warren count}^ ? 

A. No, sir ; the^^ do not. 

Q. Why did not Crosby make his bond in Warren county, 
instead of going elsewhere, to other parts of the State ? 

A. Because he could not do it here; I don't think he could 
have got it; he could not do it without getting some of the 
whites to go on his bond, and they had adopted a rule that 
they would ostracise any white man who would go on a colored 
man's bond; there were white men who said that they would 
go on Crosby's bond if it was not fur that; and Crosby told 
me himself, that under those circumstances he could not get 
bondsmen here, and that he would be compelled to seek other 
bondsmen. 

Q. Have any charges ever been made to the Board of Super- 
visors of dishonest}- or malfeasance in office, against Crosby ? 
A. No; none whatever. 



100 

Q. Did the members of the Board regard him as an honest 
official ? 

A. Yes; as far as I understand, both parties did; Major 
McGruder himself, the representative of the Tax-Payers* 
League, said he believed Crosby was an honest man, and he 
had nothing against him, only his being a colored man. 

By Mr. Sullivan : 

Q. Do you know of any people having been killed in the 
country ? 

A. I don't know a single man that was killed. 

Q. Have you not heard of colored men being killed in the 
neighborhood ot Newtown within the last two or three weeks? 

A. No; I have not. 

Q. Newtown is down the river? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Was the attention of the Board drawn to the charges 
made against the county officials by the newspapers, or by in- 
dividuals ? 

A. By individuals and by the newspapers also. 

Q. And the Board of Supervisors appointed a committee for 
the purpose of investigating the charges ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And the committee employed an expert ? 

A. Yes, 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. How far do you live from here ? 

A. Twenty-two miles, about. 

Q. Where were you on the Sunday before the fight? 

A. At Newtown. 

Q. How far is that from Vicksburg ? 

A. Twenty-two miles. 

Q. Were you at church on that day ? 

A. Yes; I was. 

Q. Were there many people there at church ? 

A. A good many people; quite a large crowd; all colored 
people. 

Q. What was the name of the man who read Governor 
Ames' proclamation and Crosby's proclamation to the people 
there ? 

A. That was myself. 

Q. Who told you to read that? 

A. I am Secretary of the church. 

Q. Were those papers filed as a part of the church docu- 
ments ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Who told you to read them; does the Secretary of the 
church always read such papers ? 

A. We were just requested to read it to the people; the man 
I got it from requested me to read it; it was something rare to 



1/ 

101 

them ; and I told the pastor of the church, and he told me to 
read it to the people. 

Q. Who did you get those documents from, did you say ? 

A. I o-ot them from the man that had them ; I don't know 
his name; he had been here at Hickory Grove church and got 
them. 

Q. What did he say they had done there ? 

A. He said those papers were read in that church; ho had 
preached there on that day, and he brought them to me. 

Q. To be read in your church ? 

A. Yes ; to be read to the people. 

Q. Is it customary to read such documents as that in church, 
amono- vour people? 

A. No; it is not customary ; it is something new. 

Q. Political documents are not often read in churches ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. What did you say to the people after you got through 

reading? 

A. I dont know what I said; I told them that I did not know 

whether it was true or not. 

Q. Did you not advise your people to do something ? 

A. I told them it would not be advisable to go to town to 
create a fight; that we were not prepared, we had no guns, only 
a few sliot-guns and old muskets. 

Q. Which one of the papers was read first? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. Did you read the pi'oolamation of the Governor ? 

A. The one of the 4lh of December— no, sir. 

Q. Did you not read a message from the Governor? 

A. I believe the message, calling an extra session of the 
Legislature, was read; no, I didn't read it. 

Q. You just read Crosby's card at church, then ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Was that a pretty bitter card, or what was the character 

of the card ? ^ 

A. I could not tell you; something about this size (say four 

by eight inches). 

Q. How did it read ? 

A. Some thought that he was harshly treated. 

Q. Did it say anything harsh— that card of Crosby's ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Would you know it again if you saw it ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did you see anything like this in it: " I stood alone, sin- 
gle and unarmed, in the midst of six hundred of the most de- 
termined and heartless political bandits that ever disturbed the 
peace of any community, and by which rufllans I was com- 
manded to resign my office." Was that in that card ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You think that was in there ? 

A. Yes, sir. 



102 

Q. Is not that harsh language, don't you think ? 

A. Yes; I don't think it was addressed to any one person. 

Q. I ask you whether it was not severe against any class of 
persons ? 

A. No ; I thought you asked if it was against an}' one. 

Q. What did you understand b}^ these words in that card: 
" I earnestly call for the support of my friends. Shall I call 
in vain ? I think not. We have joined issue; now let us fight 
the cause out on its merits." What did you understand by 
that ? 

A. I thought it was ver}' foolish. 

Q. What did you understand b}' these words: "Let us fight 
the cause out on its merits." Did you not understand that it 
meant fio:ht? 

A. Ye^s. 

Q. And your people generally understood that? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. But that was 3^our understanding? 

A. I did not go on to explain it. 

Q. Let us fight it out on this line; that meant fight? 

A. It meant fight; but fight in what manner ? 

Q. What did you understand it meant ? 

A. I did not think that he meant to come here with arms to 
raise war; I had no idea of that. 

Q. What did 3'ou understand then that he meant ? 

A. I thought he meant that we should come here and see 
what was the matter. 

Q. That you were to fight it out in law^ ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were your people lawyers ? 

A. No, sir; they could have employed lawyers. 

Q. You understand, then, that 3'ou were to come here and 
help him to employ lawyers ? 

A. No; I did not. 

Q. What did you understand then ? 

A. We understood him to want us to codSe up and fight it 
out in some legal wa}'. 

Q. Did 30ur people come ? 

A. No. 

Q. None of them came ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. No part of the colored people from Newtown came up 
here? 

A. They started, but did not get here. 

Q. How far did they come? 

A. They got into the outskirts of Vicksburg. 

Q. What time did they get there? 

A. They got there between two and three o'clock. 

Q. In the morning or evening? 

A. In the evening. 



103 

Q. How miiny of them came up in the outskirts of Vicks- 

burg? 

A. Twenty or twenty-five of them. 

Q. Twenty or twenty five from your club ? 

A. We have no club at Newtown. 

Q. Were you all armed ? 

A. Some of them had shot-guns and pistols. 

Q. What proportion of them had shot-guns? 

A. Very few: may be seven or eight. 

Q. How many guns do you think there were in that crowd i 

A. Seven or eight shot-guns. 

Q. Were there any muskets? 

A. Two or three muskets. 

Q. Were there any rifles in the crowd ? 

A. No, sir; none at all. 

Q. Is it usual for your people when you come m town m 
that number to come armed? 

A. Not always. 

Q. It is an unusual thing ? 

A. We had more arms then than usual. 

Q. Do you know what induced them to come with more 
arms than usual ? 

A. They understood that there was bushwhackers on tne 
road to prevent them from coming to town. 

Q. How did you understand that? 

A. From parties that came from Vicksburg. 

Q. Who ? name some of them. 

A. I don't know; I just picked that up here and there; it 
was not reliable. 

Q. Then tlie people came here to protect themselves trom 

bushwhackers? 

A. Yes; only to resist, if they were attacked. 

Q. They did not bring arms with them to protect Crosby, 
but to protect themselves ? 

A. Yes; to protect themselves. 

Q. Against bushwhackers? 

A. Yes; against bushwhackers; to protect themselves. 

Q. How long had that report been in circulation, that there 
were bushwhackers on the road ? 

A. On Monday morning. 

Q. What time did you leave home on Monday morning j* 

A. Between seven and eight o'clock. 

Q. Were your people mostly riding or walking ? 

A. Some were riding and some were walking. 

Q. Did they come pretty well together in a crowd ? 

A. No; scattered along the road. 

Q. Where did you all get together out here? 

A. Well, they did not have any particular place to go to get 
together. 

Q. You got how close to town? 

A. Here this side of the Holly Grove Church. 



104 

Q. How far is that from here ? 

A. I could not tell you; about a mile and a half from the 
Court house, I suppose. 

Q. When tliey got there, how man}^ of you were there to- 
gether, all told ? 

A. The number of men on horseback was about twenty. 

Q. And how many on foot ? 

A. There were none on foot. 

Q. That was all cavalry then? 

A. The men were on horseback; they were not cavalry. 

Q. How came the}' to go back? 

A. They heard it was difficult to come to town ; and they 
were not prepared for any fight; it was useless for them to 
come ; they did not start to have any fight. 

Q. Did Crosby's card seem to excite your people when you 
read it to them on Sunday? 

A. No ; it did not kick up any excitement; most of the peo- 
ple did not understand it. 

Q. The words were too big for them? 

A. Yes; and there were some Latin words in it. 

Q. Who put that Latin in? Did you hear who wrote it? 

A. No: I don't know; when I heard it, I did not believe 
that Crosby wrote it. 

Q. Crosby is not a Latin scholar? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. It did not raise much excitement among j^our people? 

A. No; because they were very dull about going to town. 

Q. You heard a good deal said about this thing after it was 
read by 3'ou, I suppose? 

A. No; I went home, as usual, that night, and went to bed. 

Q. I understood you to say, a while ago, that Majors Pax- 
ton and Bowen, Doctor Shannon, and others, told j^ou some- 
thing, or that you were intimidated by them to do something ? 

A. The}' said it would not be safe for us not to receive the 
resignation of Crosb}' ; C. K. Marshall told me so. 

Q. When did he tell you so ? 

A. On the morning of the meeting of the Board of Super- 
visors. 

Q. Did he tell 3^ou so while the Board was in session? 

A. Yes. 

Q. They made speeches to the Board? 

A. C. K. Marshall made a few remarks in regard to the dead 
13'ing uu hurried. 

Q. Did 3*ou understand hi^n to say that in a threatening 
way ? 

A. I understood him to say that the affairs of the city were 
unsettled, and they knew they could not control the people. 

Q. That was the remark that intimidated you? 

A. No; I was rather intimidated from the appearances of 
the men there. 

Q. Then that remark did not intimidate you? 



105 

A. I was iutimidated already, when I saw the men and guns. 
Q. Then you may have been mistaken in saying that you 
were intimidated by them, at that meeting? 

A. I was intimidated by the general appearance of the men 
around the Courthouse; they looked as though they would 
take a man's life by locking at him; I spoke to a man, when 
we were taking a recess; in going down the steps, in company 
with Chavis, the deputy Sheriff, I saw some white men sitting 
on the side-walk; they said: "There is two damned niggers 
now ; by God — they said—what do you want?" Chavis said, 
"I want money," jokingly; and the man said: "I would rather 
give you both of these loads," showing the loads in his gun; 
Chavis said, "I don't want that;" and he said, " that is the 
kind of stuff that I like to give niggers." 
Q. How many of them were there ? 
A. They were thick around here. 
Q. How many of them were doing the talking ? 
A. Two. 

Q. Both of them said the same thing? 

A. I did not take any notice of that language, only of the 
one who said he would rather give us lead; he was a rather 
dirtv looking man. 

q. What did he look like ? 
A. Something like a Texas ranger. 

Q. Did he look like one of those political tricksters, and so 
on, that is talked about in Crosby's card ? 

A. He looked as though he might resemble some of them. 
Q. Do you know Major Magruder ? 
A. Yes. 

Q. How^ long have you known him ? 

A. I have heard his name for the last three or four years. 
Q, I would like for you to state positively the conversation 
between you- and Major Magruder, about the sutHcency of 
Crosby's l3ond? 

A. It was before the Board; he said that the bond was in- 
suflScient. 

Q. What else did he say? 

Lunatic 20 
A. He said that it was not worth the paper it was written on. 
Q. He was the representative of the Tax-Payers' League? 
A. Yes ; and I says: "just mention the parties whoareinsoh 
vent on the bond ;" and he went on naming some ; I said : 
" Are you prepared to prove it?" He said : " We are." I said : 
"Why not go into Court and prove it? We cannot do other- 
wise than to accept it ; we have examined the bond and sworn 
these men who went on Crosby's bond, and we cannot do other 
wise than take a man's oath ; and if he swears to a lie, we are 
not responsible." Then, after the Board adjourned, Crosby 
said to Maj. Magruder: "Why the devil do you oppose me so 
much V" and he answered: "Simply, by God, because you are 
a negro." 



106 

Q. You stated in j^our direct examination that Maj. Magru- 
der said Crosby's bond was good. 

A. I did not, I sa^^; he said that Crosb}' was an honest man. 

Q. He said that he had nothing against Crosby except his 
beino- a colored man. 

A. Yes; he said that to Crosby and Davenport together, in 
my presence. 

Q. Had the Board of Supervisors refused on one or two 
occasions to meet here, in reference to making a new bond for 
Crosby? 

A. No, sir; we refused to meet at the call of the people here, 
sometimes; and we did not then refuse directly; because we 
met afterwards. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. B}^ what means did 3^ou arrive at the sufficeincy of 
Crosby's bond ? 

A. We examined the record of these men that had gone 
upon his bond, and we found out what we could in regard to 
what they were worth ; and we questioned lawyers and got 
their opinion, in what way we should go on and arrive at the 
sufficiency of the amount; the lawyers said, that we could not 
do otherwise than to take their oaths, that the}^ were worth 
ten thousand dollars when they went on the bond for ten thou- 
sand dollars ; tha^i we would have to take it from their oath; 
and if the}' swore to a falsehood, the}^ had the Courts to apply 
to for a remedy. 

Q. What lawyers said so? 

A. Well, Albert Lea, W. W. Dedrick, Judge Morris, and 
several others; I do not know their names. 

Q. Can you not remember any one of them? 

A. No, sir ; no one else. 

Q. On the day when you approved Crosby's bond, did not 
the tax-payers ask you to postpone action to the next da}', and 
say that they would bring proof of the insolvency of the par- 
ties? 

A. No; they said they had proof. 

Q. Did you not make a motion before the Board, that the 
subject of the bond be laid over to the next day? 

A. No; we made a motion in the morning that the bond be 
laid over to the afternoon, for the purpose of investigating it. 

Q. When you made that motion, did not Davenport touch 
you on the shoulder, and you and he go out and have a con- 
versation, and when you came back, did 3^ou not withdraw the 
motion? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did not Davenport, at some time when a motion was 
pending before the Board in reference to that bond, touch you 
on the shoulder, and you and he went out and had a conversa- 
tion ? 

A. I don't remember Davenport interviewing me. 



107 

Q. You say he did not do that ? 
A. He did not, to my knowledge. 

By Mr. Champlin: 

Q. What road did 3'ou come in here on ? 
A. On the Warrenton road. 

By the Chairman: 

Q. Did you intend to sa}^ that Major Magruder said that the 
bond was sufficient or insufficient ? 

A. That it was insufficient. 

Q. Does any secret oath-bound political organization of 
colored men exist in Warren county ? 

A. Not to m}^ knowledge. 

Q. Has any such organization ever existed in Warren county ? 

A. N 'ne to my knowledge, onlj^ Masons. 

Q. I mean political organizations ? 

A. ISIo ; none that I know of. 

Q. Do you think that if any such organization existed that 
you would have known it ? 

A. I think so ; I don't think it can exist. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Did you never have club organizations ? 

A. In the city — yes. 

Q. Bat none in the county ? 

A. None down my wa}'. 

Q. Did you ever attend club meetings ? 

A. I attended them here in the city, during the campaign. 

Q. Did you ever attend any secret club meeting ? 

A. No, sir. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. You do not look upon a club meeting as a secret organi- 
zation ? 

A. No. 

By Mr. Cessor : 

Q. Did 3'ou never hear notices given out at church, that 
there would be political speeches at certain places ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did 3^ou never have notices read in church, that there 
would be Republican gatherings ? 

A. Yes; when the gentleman asked me, I was rather too fast 
in an 3 we ri no-. 

Q. Another question in regard to that card of Crosby's: 
How mjin}- colored men in Warren county do you know, that 
understand what force of language that card conveys ? 

A. I don't think there are two; I did not exactly know it 
myself; that was the reason I did not pay any more attention 
to it. 

Q. Two in the county ? 



108 

A. In the county ? Well, I would not pretend to say how 
many in the county. 

Q. Do you think that there are twenty colored men in the 
county who understand the force of language in that card ? 

A I don't believe that there are ten men in the county who 
know the force of the language in that card. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. How many persons were there at church that Sunday? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. About how many ? 

A. A good man3^ women, men and children. 

Q. About how many were there ? 

A. I don't know that. 

Q. Were there four hundred ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Three hundred ? 

A. No, sir ; not that man}'. 

Q. Were there two hundred ? 

A. No, sir; not two hundred ; I suppose there were about 
twenty or twenty-five, men, women and children at church. 

Q. The}" don't attend church much in your neighborhood ? 

A. There are four or five churches in the neighborhood ; 
and it is a very small place; some don't go to church at all; 
the church people attend regularly, and the others do not. 

Q. You mean to say, that the force of language in that card 
was not generally understood ? 

A. I don't ihink it was actually understood. 

Q. Do you think the force of language in that card, is more 
diflScult to understand than the declaration of principles of the 
Republican party ? 

A. Of course I do. 

Q. You think, then, that the language used in setting forth 
the principles of the Republican party, is not so difficult to 
understand as the language of that card ? 

A. No; it is not. 

Q. You do not believe that Crosby wrote that card ? 

A. No; I don't believe he wrote it; I don't believe he would 
say so much . 

By Mr. Gill: 
Q. Do you know any part}' that visited A.be Reynolds' house? 
A. I don't know Abe Reynolds. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Count how many Republican office-holders there are in 
Warren county, who are colored men, including Senators, Rep- 
resentative in the Legislature, Justices of the Peace and Super- 
visors. 

A. Thirteen, besides Justices of the Peace and Constables. 



109 

HENRY WALKER, 

Being dnly sworn, sa3's: [Examination in chief. 'I 

Q. Where do 3^011 live ? 

A. On the Grove street road, in Warren count}^ about a 
mile from Vii'ksburg; or halt* a mile outside of the cit}^ limits. 

Q. What is your occupation ? 

A. I am a carpenter. 

Q. State, as briefly as you can, what you know about the 
riot that took place in Vicksburg, on the 7th of Docemb>?r ? 

A. There were men came out, and commenced the battle 
right by m}^ house; they were white men that came out; the 
colored men were going back toward home ; there was rather 
a compromise made, and they were turned back toward home; 
Co!. Furlong was on his horse a short distance from my house; 
Col. Miller was pursuing; Col. Furlong had his pistol in his 
hand, and fired right toward the colored men; and he said: 
*' Rally, boys, rally;" Col. Furlong shot the first pistol that was 
shot. " " "* 

Q. State how many were killtd, and who they were ? 

A. I only know the name of one man; there was one man 
killed there that I did not know; they were all colored men 
that were killed ; there were three colored men killed in the 
rear of my house; one man's name was Si. Hope. 

Q. How many white men were killed there ? 

A. None on this road at all. 

Q Did the colored men fire on the white men there ? 

A. Not that I know; there was one man who acknowledged 
he fired; he was shot; they shot him through the thigh. 

Q. You stated three colored men were killed; how many 
were wounded ? 

A. I don't know; only Abe Walker; I don't know whether 
there were any more wounded on that road. 

Q. How many white men were wounded there ? 

A. I did not hear of any one at all. 

Q. You stated, I believe, that when the firing commenced 
the colored men were goiig out of town ? 

A. They were retreating, going toward home. 

Q. How far were the colored men from Vicksburg when they 
were fired on b}' the white men? 

A. A little over a mile; just the other side of my house. 

Q. What did the colored men do when the white men fired 
on them ? 

A. I don't know; they ran; they scattered ; the white men 
killed Si. Hope in the branch; the old man lay there all night, 
and the next morning he was taken out; one man lay on top of 
the hill, and another in a big hollow. 

Q. Did the white men continue the pursuit of the colored 
men an^' distance ? 

A. Yes; a good distance. 

Q. Were thev on horseback? 
In— 9 



no 

A. Yes; the cavalry were. 

Q. Do you know anything of any fighting on any other 
road, except the Grove street road ? 

A. No; only i'rom what I heard them say. 

Q. Were an}' demonstrations made toward you by any per- 
son y 

A. One man — I don't know who he was — said: "There is a 
fellow in the yard there; let us pop him; " the other said: " No, 
don't let us trouble this man; he is in his own lot." 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. You were at 3'our own house ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And the white men came b}" 3'our house ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Had the colored people gone b}', when the white men 
passed your house? 

A. Yes; they had come inside of the city limits, and when 
the compromise was made, that the colored people were to go 
back, they were going back, when Col. Furlong took out his 
pistol, and said, "Rally, boys, rail}'." 

Q. Then several others commenced firing? 

A. Yes; then the whole company commenced firing. 

Q. And the colored people commenced scattering? 

A. Yes; in the hollows, and then they crossed from the 
Grove street road over to the Jackson road, where there were 
other colored people; and there was some heavy firing over 
there. 

Q. Then the whites followed them over there ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Are you positivel}' certain as to who fired the first shot? 

A. Yes; I am well acquainted with Col. Furlong. 

Q. You saw him raise up his pistol and fire? 

A. Yes; and I thought it strange; I took him for a friend 
all the time, and he was the first man to say, fire. 

Q. You were not notified 3'ourself to come to town ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. The colored people did not seem as though thej^ wanted 
to fight much ? 

A^ Thc}^ did not seem anxious; the leader, Andrew Owens, 
was pretty brave, 1 thought. 

Q. They appeared as if they were taken by surprise ? 

A. Well, they had some guns with them; and some had 
walking sticks, but there was none of them prepared for bat- 
tle, or but very few. 

Q. Do you know of any houses having been searched in 
your neighborhood ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. State what houses have been searched, and what property 
taken, and the manner in which that searching was done. 

A. I was in the road when they came along to search; there 



Ill 

were two or three men and a dozen small boys, white boys, 
altogether; tlie boys got up and said to me: " What have you 
got here ?" I said: "I have nothing." I was at the side of 
the road. They then felt my pockets, and felt all around, and 
one of them said: "I want to see for myself." Of course, I 
was compelled to let them do as tiie;/ pleased; they searched a 
great many houses in town here; they did not do much 
searching in my part of the country. 

Q. Do you know of any property having been taken away 
by these people ? 

A. No, sir; I do not; there was one woman lost a mule, they 
took away; she said they had taken a mule from her, and she 
wanted to know what action to take to get it back. 

Q. She told you that she had lost it, and that they had taken 
it ? 

A. Yes. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. Do you know of any secret oath-bound political organi- 
zation, consisting exclusively of colored men, in the county of 
Warren ? 

A. There used to be, but there is not now, that I know of; 
but in the time before the election, they were holding meetings 
very regalarl}^; I cannot say that there are any important 
societies now among them. 

Q. Yousdon't seem to answer the question. I asked you 
whether you knew of any secret oath-bound political organiza- 
tion of colored men, and you said there used to be. 

A. Yes; there used to be some secret societies. 

Q. What did you call them ? 

A. The Union League. 

Q. Was that composed of white or colored men ? 

A White and colored together. 

Q. Then you don't know of any secret organization of just 
black men entirely ? 

A. No, sir; none at all. 

Q. How long is it since those Loyal Leagues have been in 
organization in Warren count}^? 

A. I think it is, may be, a couple of years since they held 
any meeting; I belonged to it myself; but it became adulter- 
ated some wa}^ and has not been carried on for some time; it 
got badly adulterated. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. You say that you were in your 3'ard and sojne gentlemen 
came riding by, and ihey threatened to shoot you? 

A. They were not riding, they were walking. 

Q. And they stopped and threatened to shoot you in your 
yard? 

A. Th'ey were not talking to me exactly; they said: *' Yott- 
der is a fellow; let us shoot him down," 



112 

Q. Did you know those men? 

A. No, sir; the}' were a parcel of 3''Oungsters here from 
town; I don't know any one of them by name; it was a parcel 
of l)oys raised he>'e in town. 

Q. Who were those who searched you? 

A. I don't know their names; there was a white man out 
there*, and I asked him, did he know them? but I cannot re- 
member now; it was not men that searched me, it was boys. 

Q. Do you feel that there is any danger in your comming 
before this committee and making oath to everything that you 
know about this matter? 

A. Well, there may be danger, but I am not afraid of it now; 
I did hear that the Colonel said — but I did not hear liim say it 
m3'seir — that the first man tliat said that he fired the first gun, 
he woukl shoot him; that was Col. Furlong. 

Q. Do 3'ou know anybody who does know who those parties 
were who searched you? 

A. I think I do; a white man, who has got a little grocery 
b}' me, Mr. Murphy. 

Q. What IS his first name? 

A. I don't know; he is an Irishman; he lives on Grove 
street. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Did you have any Democrats in 3-our Lo3'al League? 

A. I think we did. 

Q. Who were the3'? 

A. I think there were some; but I think it was them that 
broke it up. 

Q. Would you have let them in if 3-ou had known that the}^ 
weie Democrats? 

A. No; the Lo3'al League was not composed of Democrats 
at all. 

Q. A man had to agiee to vote the Republican ticket before 
they would let him in? 

A. Oh, yes; we didn't want any but Republicans in it. 

By Mr. Allen: 

How far do you live from town? 

A. About a mile from the Court house. 

Q. What time in the morning did these colored men that 
were out there get to your house? 

A. They passed my house in the morning coming in; and 
then they passed it again going out after the compromise was 
made. 

Q. You say^ they made a compromise? 

A. Yes. 

Q. What was that compromise? 

A. That was, tliat thcN' were to return to their homes, and 
were to have no fuss at all. 

Q. Who was that compromise between? 



113 

A. Between Horace Miller and Andrew Owens, who com- 
manded; that is what Owens told me, that that was the com- 
promise. 

Q. How many of those colored men were there? 

A. In the sqnad that came in, I think there were about a 
hundred and titty; and there was about eighty guns among 
them. 

Q. How many had pistols ? 

A. I don't know; a good many had pistols; the Captain of 
the squad, I know, had only a pistol. 

Q. How far had they come toward town, from your house, 
before they turned back? 

A. About half the distance. 

Q. How far was that? 

A. About half a mile; I live about one mile from the Court- 
house. 

Q. Then you don't know, of your own knowledge, that there 

was any compromise made at all? 

A. Only from what they told me. 

Q. Did'the first firing occur before your house, at 3^our house, 
or after they had passed it? 

A. After they had passed my house going back, right m 

sight. . 

Q. The colored people were going home when the firing com 

menccd? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were thev going all in a body? 

A. Yes; and"^ never broke until they commenced firing on 
them; then they scattered over the hills, in different directions. 

Q. Did you see any of those men killed? 

A. I saw them after they were killed. 

Q. Did you see any of them killed? 

A. I did not see them when they fell, but while they were 
lyinf? there ; there was one man lived about half a day. 

Q' You know none of the killed, yourself ? 

Q. Then, if you did not see them when they were killed, how 
did you know they were killed running? 

A. I have a right to believe they were, from the position 
they lay in; one man was lying in the branch, with the balls 
right in the head, over the eye. 

Q. If that man had been killed running, and if the white 
men were behind, he would have been shot in tlie back; how 
do you account for his being shot over the eye? 

A. He was in the branch. 

Q. But 3^ou say that he was running toward home; how 
could a man, following on behind, shoot him in the eye? 

A. There was something wrong about that; I looked at him. 

Q. How do you account for that? 

A. I tell you, anyhow, I was told by parties, that he was 
lying in the branch, trying to hide, when he was shot. 



114 

Q. Then he was not running when he was I3 ing in the 
branch? 

A. There was one of the men that was running; one was 
running and the other trying to hide. 

Q. How do you know that the other was running? 

A. He was about to run; he was in the branch, tr^'ing to 
get out of the way. 

Q. You think he was running, because he was in the branch? 

A. I think he was trying to make his escape. 

Q. Do you know, of 3'our own knowledge, that any of these 
men were running when they were shot? 

A. No; only what I heard. 

Q. You said these people searched a great many houses in 
the city ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do you know that' to be so, or did you only hear it? 

A. I heard that; a man living two miles from town told me; 
Peter Clay told me that he had some cotton, and they scattered 
that all over the yard; another man and Clay said, they cut 
his bedstead open and took twenty dollars out. ^ 

Q. This you don't know yourself? 

A. No more than what he told me. 

Q. You don't know of any house being searched of your own 
knowledge?' 

A. No, sir; only from what they told me. 

Q. How many colored men were killed in your neighborhood? 

A. Three killed. 

Q. Where were they shot? 

A. I never went to but one; but there was one man that was 
shot running, when he tried to make his escape; he appeared 
to be shot through his leg; he kept on raising up and falling 
down; he was in a hollow; nobody went to him; in fact we 
were afraid to go to them; he died in about half a day. 

Q. You say that Furlong fired the first gun? 

A. Yes. 

Q. What is his politics — is he a Republican or a Democrat!" 

A. I would father take him to be a Democrat. 

Q. W^as he not elected as a Republican? 

A. He was at one time. 

Q. Was he not the last time? 

A. Yps; I think lie betrayed his trust. 

Q. Why do you think so? 

A. By firing on his friends. 

Q. He fired on the colored people? 

A. Yes, sh*. 

Q. Have not the Republicans got any friends except colored f 

A. Yes. 

Q. You think then that he is not a Republican, because he 
fired on the colored men ? 

A. I don't think that any man who fires on his friends is a 
good man? 



115 

Q. I am not talking about who is a good man, but a good 
Republican? 

A. I wouldn't take him to be a Republican. 

Q. Has he renounced the principles of the Republican party? 

A. I don't think he has 

Q. Then this don't seem to have been a fight between the 
Republicans and Denivjcrats entirel}^; there seems to have been 
Republicans on the citizens side? 

A. I don't think there are many like him; I thought at one 
time that he was a good man. 

Q. Did he not belong to the Loyal League? . - 

A. Yes; he was one of our leading men. 

Q. He used to be the Republican Sheriff here? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And before that he was a Union man and a Federa. sol- 
dier? 

A. Yes; the boys of the Union Lei^ue made him ShenfT 

the last time. 

Q. Was there any other Republicars among those white peo- 
ple that you knew? 

A. No*; none that I knew; there was such an awful destruc- 
tion on that morning a man did not have much time to see who 
the persons were. 

Q. Did Furlong fire in the direction of the people who were 
running^? 

A. Yes; he just raised up his pistol and fired down the road, 
and hollowed: "Rally, boys, rally;" he was right in front. 
Q. Did he look prettv game ? 

A. Yes; he looked like he meant fight; I thought Col. Mil- 
ler was a better Republican at that time than he was. 
Q. Col. duller did not show much fight? 
A. He did not want any shooting at all ; he wanted every- 
body to turn and go home; he raised up his hand and said: 
" Don't shoot ! don't shoot ! " After Furlong told them to 
rally, all the guns started. 

Q. Did the colored people do any firing ? 
A. I know but one man; this man who is here in the next 
room ; he says he fired. 
Q. Where was he ? 

A. He was about a half a mile from my house when he fired. 
Q. Did 3^ou see him fire ? 

A. The ball came through my yard, and he told me he fired. 
Q. You don't know that he "fired, or that any colored men 
fire<l ? 

A. No; only what he told me. 

Q. How could you see them so far, and what character of 
guns they had ? 

A. From my house there was a place where they commenced 
firing where "there is a tolerably good road; it is a sort of on 
the brow of the hill like, where they commenced firing; they 
filed very lively there, for a while. 



116 

By Mr. Cesser: 

Q. You said you did not consider it a fight altogether be- 
tween the Repui)lic'ans and Democrats ? 

A. That 1 did consider ? No; I think all the fiiiliting has 
been between those parties — the Republicans and Democrats. 

Q. Don't you think that it has been a fight .between the 
Democrats and the colored men ? 

A. Yes; a colored man, who is not a Democrat, I don't 
know how he looks, exactl}^ 

ABE REYNOLDS, 

Bein^ ^li^lv sworn, saj's: [Examination in chief.] 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Where do you live ? 

A. At Spiinglield, Warren count}'', here, right in town. 

Q. What is your occupation ? 

A. I generally work in the government service, down at the 
cemetery. 

Q. Where were you on Monday, the 7th of December ? 

A. Right at home, in my own house, in Vicksburg. 

Q. State what you know about the fighting that took place 
on that day, and what you know about any person having been 
killed inside of the city limits, and about the searching of any 
houses; and give the names of the parties engaged ? 

A. iMy house was searched on Tuesday night, the time they 
killed old man Tom Bittennan; they searched my house, and 
took twenty-five dollars, my powder flask, or powder horn, a 
double barrel shot-gun, and a shot-bag — a coonskin shot-bag. 

Q. Who did this? 

A. Captain Andrews' company, they told me; they had me 
so badly scarred ; there was about sixty men there, and they 
punched me in the side with their guns; they came about mid- 
night, and made me get u\) out of bed. 

Q. What did they say to you ? 

A. They came np and asked me hadn't I run down the 
plank road on Monday morning and blown my horn for the men 
to fall out to fight; I told them no; I didn't have an}- I had 
laid my horn away; I didn't have any horn; then one man 
came up and smacked me on the side of the jaw, and said 
they were going to kill me; then they took me about two 
hundred 3'ards or tliree hundred yards, riglit up the hollow, 
and \ heard one of the men say: "This will be a good place 
to kill him." I said: " Gentlemen, what are you going to kill 
me forV I didn't do anything." Then they said: "God damn 
you, hush your talking, I am not talking to you." Then I 
heard them say, a little further on: " Let us kill him here; this 
is a goo<l place." I said: " Lord, gentlemen, are 3'ou going to 
kill a poor innocent man ?" Then they didn't say any more 
to me; they came back to my house; brougiit me back and 



117 

asked mc if I knew any of their names; I told thorn: ''I 
think I know some." They then tohl me, if I did know they 
w^oukl let me off if I didn't tell any of their names; there was 
a widow woman up there that they undertook to ravish. 

Q. Did 3'ou hear or see that ? 

A. Yes ; she told me about it. 

Q. When did she tell you ? 

A. She told me again this morning. 

Q. And she had told you of it before ? 

A. Yes; that was Wednesda}^ morning, the morning after 
they searched my house. 

Q. Did you hear them make any noise, or did 3'ou hear any 
screaming when they went to her iiouse ? 

A. Yes; her name is Francis Williams; her house is about 
fifty yards from mine. 

Q. Did she scream loud ? 

A. I heard her hollow, that there was no guns at her house; 
and I heard her tell my wife what tliey were doing. 

Q. Did they succeed in ravishing her ? 

A. That is what she told me this morning. 

Q. What did you see on Monday, the day of the riot ? 

A. The bridge down there was covered with men with 
double-barrel shot-guns; they were white men; their pickets 
stood up on the hill; there were some little boys, about this 
high, two or three on horses, with arms. 

Q. Did you see anybody killed ? 

A. No; there was nobody killed out our way, only old Tom 
Bitteiman, an old crazy fellow. 

Q. What was he killed about ? 

A. He would not give up his gun. 

Q. Who would not he give his gun to ? 

A. I don't know; he was killed in Margaret Thomas' house. 

Q. Were they white men or colored men, who killed him ? 

A. They were white men that shot him; there was no colored 
men out at that time of night. 

Q. They went to Louis' house to take his gun, which he re- 
fused to give up? 

A. Yes; and they shot him three times; one shot went 
through two rooms, and if the children's bed had not been so 
low, all the children might have been killed right in bed. 

Q. Is that all you know about what occurred on Monda}' ? 

A. Yes; I went u|) the next morning on the hill to look for 
a Mason's seal that Captain Kiley lost, who used to l)elong to 
the Bounty office ; I found the seal; a gentleman offered me 
four dollars for it; but I ran and gave it to the (Japtaiu, and he 
gave me three dollars for it. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. You say you work in the government cemetery ? 

A. Sometimes I do. 

Q. What is your principal profession ? 



118 

A. I mow grass out tliore, and fish and hunt. 

Q. You did not take any part in the fight ? 

A. No, sir; not me; I am crippled now. 

Q. What was the reason those people did not kill you when 
they took you out-? 

A. I d n't kuow; I was taken out because the women hol- 
lowed and screamed; and, I thought, they wanted to be secret 
about it. 

Q. Tlic}^ took you three hundred yards away from tho 
house ? 

A. y<s ; my wife undertook to follow them, but they would 
not let her; then they stopped about two hundred yards off. 

CJ. What did they say when they stopped? 

A. That they \uu\ a great notion to kill me; that militia 
company they had here, they had me into it. 

Q. Were you a member of P. C. Hall's company? 

A. Yes; I was in it; but they had a fuss here at one time 
before, and then I turned over my gun to Hall, and Hall 
turned it over to Woods; and they wanted to take me up to 
Woods' house to get that gun. 

Q. They took you up to Woods' house to get that gun. 

A. Yes. 

Q. That is what they took you out of the house for ? 

A. Yes, 

Q. They did not take 3'Ou out to kill you ? 

A. That is what tiie}^ said they were going to do; but I did 
not believe they would; the Captain of the company said that 
they were not going to kill me, but there was a parcel of fel- 
lows said they had a notion to. 

Q. You then were satisfied that they did not take you out to 
kill you ? 

A. The Captain told them not to do it. 

Q. But they took you out to get a gun ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Francis Williams; who was that? 

A. She sta3'ed there in that house. 

Q. How old is she ? 

A. She is a young woman about twenty five. 

Q. Is she a yellow woman? 

A. No; a black womnn. 

Q. You say they tried to ravish her ? 

A. That is what she told me herself. 

Q. Do you know anything about it? . 

A. No; no more than that she told me; I heard her hollow. 

Q. What did she say when she hollowed? 

A. That there was no guns in the house. 

Q. That didn't look much like as though they were trying 
to ravish her; but they were hunting; for jjuns? 

A. Yes; they were hunting for guns. 

Q. And that was all the hollowing you heard? 

A. Yes. 



119 

Q. You did not hear any hollowing, like that of a woman 
about being ravished ? 

A. Well, I was so badly scared 

Q. Where were you when you heard her hollowing? 

A. I was sitting right by my house; they stayed there at 
that house the whole blessed night, right in her yard, about 
sixty men; and they broke the pickets in her 3'ard. 

Q. You did not know an}" of them? 

A. Them sixt}^ men? no. 

Q. How long have you been here? 

A. I have been here since the war; I belonged to Osborn's 
cavalry. 

Q Do you know many people here. 

A. I know most everybody. 

Q. White and black? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And yet you say there were sixt}^ men at your house that 
you did not know. 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do they live here? 

A. Some of them must live here, but one cf them I heard 
say: "this is the worst hill I have seen since I came from Jack- 
son." Anotlier said he came from Texas. 

Q. You don't know then whether any of them live here? 

A. No; only what they told me, 

Q. Those men may have been from Louisiana? 

A. No; I don't think the Louisiana fellows came over here 
until t'le next da\'. 

Q. H:)w many of them did you see from Louisiana? 

A. Fifty. 

Q. ^Viive they white or black? 

A. They were white men. 

Q. Were they armed? 

A. Yes, sir; the Texas Rangers, they were armed. 

Q. There were fifty Texas Rangers, 3'ou sa}', that came over 
here from Louisiana? 

A. Yes. 

Q. What made you think that they were Texas Rangers? 

A. The men who had me told me so. 

Q. But you saw ihe fifty Texas Rangers from Louisiana ? 

A. No; I di 1 not. 

Q. Did these men that were at 3'our house look like Texas 
Rangers? 

A. There didn't but one look like a Texas Ranger. 

Q. What made you think he was a Texas Ranger? 

A. lie had a blanket; and I have stood before the Texas 
Rangers. 

Q. lie looked like an old arm}' fellow ? 

A. Yes, sir; he did. 

Q. Who is Tom Bitterman? 



120 

A. An old mean; he hardly ever stayed in a house; he gener- 
ally slept out in the hill. 

Q. He was a crazy man? 

A. Partly crazv. 

Q. Who killed" him? 

A. I suppose Mar}' Thomas can tell you; I don't know. 

Q. But white men killed him? 

A. Oh, yes. 

Q. How do you know that the white men killed him? 

A. Because nobody else would dare to come out at that 
time. 

Q. You say then; that the white men killed him? 

A. Yes; that is my supposition; I knovv colered men would 
not dare to go out at that hour of the night. 

Q. You are swearing to this, now? 

A. Yes. 

Q. If you don't know who killed Tom Bitterman, how do 
you know that it was white men who killed him? 

A. I don't knovv any more than I heard then, in the road. 

Q. You believe that the white men killed him ? 

A. Yes; that is my belief ; and I shall stand to that belief. 

Q. What did they shoot Tom for? 

A. Because he would'nt give up his gun. 

Q. What sort of a gun did he have? 

A. A double- barrel shot-gun. 

Q. Where was he? 

A. At Mary Thomas' house; that is what Thomas told me; 
I was over there the next morning, and saw where the bullet 
went throuo'h the wall. 

Q. You were not there, then, when he was shot ? 

A. No, sir. 

.Q. You don't know, then, that he had a gun? 

A. I don't know that he had one then; the old man hunted 
and fished. 

Q. Did you and he hunt and fish together? 

A. No; I only hunt by mj-self ; sometimes I hunt with some 
young men in town; I have one or two hounds, and I generally' 
hunt with them. 

Q. The day of the'figlit, you lost some money, you say? 

A. Yes: twenty five dolhirs. 

Q. Who took that money? 

A. I can't say who took it. 

Q. Did the man, looking like a Texas Ranger, take it? 

A. I can't say who took it; it was in a big bunch, and locked 
up in a drawer, and everything in the drawer was scattered on 
the floor. 

Q. You saw them get your money? 

A. Tliey got it — yes, sir; it was in the drawer. 

Q. Did thej' sa}' anything about 3-our having an}' money ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Were you in the house when they got it? 

A. Yes. 



121 

Q. And 3^ou saw them take the money out of that drawer? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did vou say an3'thing to them about it? 

A. No; I wouhl not have told them not to take it, if they 
had taken a thousand dollars. 

Q. Was that after they had taken you back, that thej^ search- 
ed the house? 

A. No; before they took me off; they made my wife stand 
up there, and she whooped and hollowed, and tlie women all 
were v^hooping and hollowing so. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. You promised these gentlemen that you would not di- 
vulge their names? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You are sworn here to tell the truth ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Are you afraid to tell their names, if you know them? 

A. Well, sir, I know the Captain; I was afraid; for a while, 
I was afraid; I can tell you who the Captain was; I have 
bought meat from him; It is Captain Andrews, a butcher ; I 
have bought meat from him man}- times. 

Q, Do you know an}'- of the rest of the men? 

A. I don't know any more than the Captain of the compan}-. 

By ]Mr. Street: 

Q. You say that the Captain would not let them hurt 3'ou .' 

A. He would not. 

Q. Was it the Captain who took your money ? 

A. No; he went underneath my house, and took my gun ; I 
saw that. 

The Committee here took a recess until half-past two o'clock 
this p. M. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 

ALBERT ROSS, 

Being dul}- sworn, says: YExamination in Chief.'] 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. State 3^our residence and occupation ? 

A. I live at Point Lookout; I am farming a little, and haul 
manure, and work around wherever I can o'et work ; Point 
Lookout is at the latter end of Grove street, one mile from the 
Court-house. 

Q. Where were 3^ou on Monda3', the 7th of December ? 

A. When the bells first rang I was on t!ie levee, and had m3^ 
mule and dra3' there, when the3' were ringing, so I came up 
with m3^ mule, and when I got up, the3" said that the3^ were 



122 

figliling ut Point Lookout; I tried to get there, but I eoiiM not 
get tliroimh, there were so niiiiiy men; so I went around by 
my aunt's, and went around Mrs. Lanmrs; 1 eould not get tny 
mule nnd ilray out, so 1 left it at my auul's nouse ; 1 got uj) 
on the hill at Mrj?. Lamm's, and I saw a lot of meu, eolored 
and white; one party was white and the other eolored; they 
just met; they shook hands there, Andrew Owens and the 
other in;in, and said that there should be no fuss; the eolored 
meu then turned around and wtMit baek, and when we got to 
l\)int Lookv>p.t, out at the bridge. Furlong's men, and his erew 
lu)llowed and shot; he hollowed: "Rally, boys, rally," and 
then they just went to shooting; then I went aeross by Capt. 
Smith's, to the road at my house, and 1 stayed there and 
looked at them until they had killed some men; and after they 
liad killed some men, they went up to them and shot them 
ag:\in, while they were lying down ; they said they would kill 
all these negroes; I did not know what to do; 1 broke and 
ran, and they shot at me; I did not have anything; T ran 
home; 1 did not know what to do, but I said to myself: "Well, 
if any man has got to kill me, he has got to kill me with arms, 
sure;" and I ran and got my gun, and then they just turned 
loose on me; I oidy made one tire; and then one ball struek 
me in the thigh, and one went through my pants down here, 
but it did not hit my leg; I have been lying w}\ and have not 
done a bit o[' work for twenty six days. 

i.^. It is not twenty-six ilays sinee the fight ? 

A. T eouut Sundays and all; I may make a mistake of a 
few d.'iys. 

Q. Alter they hit you in the side, what did 3'on do ? 

A. 1 went in Mrs. INIiller's house, and then Captain Smith 
came with a erew of men and took me to jail. 

Q. That is all you saw V 

A. Yes; that is all I saw of the tight. 

Q. Was your house searehed, or anything taken away ? 

A. No; my gun was taken; I don't know whore it is. 

\\y Mr. Street: 

Q. I low many men did you see killed ? 

A. llefore I got shot I saw two killed. 

Q. And vou saw white men sluH)t both of them after they 
had fallen? 

A. Yes. 

Q. W ho were those twc^ men that were shot ? 

A. 1 don't know who they were; I know they were eolored 
men; they passed right there on the road.* 

C^. Were they killeil by men on horsebaok, or men on foot? 

A. Men on foot. 

Q. llow far were you tVom them t 

A. 1 passed right along by tluMe; I was not over a hu:idred 
yards from them. 

Q. Was the tight right at your house t 



123 

A. lvi<;ht below my lioiise. 

Q. How far was the light tVoiu your li<nis(!? 

A. ] wns not at u\y lioiist; wIumi I saw this; at the' l'\uw, Ihey 
shot tliosc men and were HliooLiiig tlicm again; I r:iM honu*. 

Q. IIovv mauy times were those two u en !?hot tiltcM- they Coll? 

A. One v/as isiiot tiiieo times, and the; otiier was siiot tvviee. 

Q. Do you know any of the men who were shot? 

A. No. 

Q. Who was (iomnianding those whil,e men ? 

A. 1 (h)n't ivnow wiio was eomman<ling them; Captain Fur- 
long was the lirst one hollowing, " Kally ! " 

C^. Did not he kill anybody V 

A. 1 don't know ; there were so m-vny of them shooting. 

Q. Yon got your gun after the lighting iiad eommeneeil ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. What did you do for ammunition ? 

A. I did not have but one load, and I shot that. 

Q Didn't you have any more ammunition in your house ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did you know that the eolored men were coming in that 
day ? 

A. No; 1 hadn't heard a woid of it. 

Hy Mr. Allen: 

Q. V^ou say you are a drayman ? 

A. I was (iraying in town that da}\ 

Q. And you came u[) here at the linghig of the bell? 

A. Yes." 

Q. Did you come to the Court-house ? 

A. Y(is; r eame to tlie Court house, and I saw the men run, 
mid heard them saying that they were fighting at Point Look- 
out. 

Q. iTow far is it from the Court liouse to Point Lookout to 
your house ? 

A. It is one mile from the Court house to my house. 

(.1- Were you this side of your house when you saw tho 
fighting, or the other side? 

A. I was this side. 

Q. How far were you this side of your house when you saw 
the lighting? 

A. I sui)[)ose about a hundred yards this side of my house 
when I saw the ligliting; T was just as far from my house as 
from where tliey were lighting". 

Q. The fighting was then on the other side of your house ? 

A. No; this si(le. 

Q. The lighting »vas between 3'()u and your house ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And you were about a hundred yards from where Iho 
fighting was? 

A. Yes ; about a hundred yards. 

Q. How far were you from your house? 



124 

A. I was about a hundred 3-ards this side of my house. 

Q. And then 3'ou saj^ Capt. Furlong was the first one jou 
saw shoot? 

A. His crowd was the first to shoot. 

Q. You did not see Capt. Furlong shoot, himself? 

A. His crowd iired; I didn't see him fire his gun. 

Q. Did he have a gun ? 

A. Of course he had a gun. 

Q. Did he have a pistol ? 

A. T don't know about a pistol; he had a gun. 

Q. Were 3'ou looking at Furlong? 

A. I was looking at him; I never noticed about a pistol; 
but I know he had a gun. 

Q. Hovv far was the light this side of 3'our house? 

A. It was about a hundred 3-ards each wa3', from where I 
was to the fighting, and to the house; the fighting was down 
there in the big road, about a hundred 3-ards this side of my 
house. 

Q. Was it on the same road that 3-0U were on ? 

A. No ; I was in the street, and the fight was on the big pub- 
lic road. 

Q. How far were the two apart ? 

A. The roads went into one another. 

Q. And vou sa3^ the fight was a hundred 3'ards this side of 
your house ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Now, how far were you from the fighting? 

A. About a hundred yards. 

Q. Were those men killed at the first fire ? 

A. No; not at the first fire. 

Q. Were they standing up when they were killed? 

A. No; the colored men were running across the hill? 

Q. How far had they run before they were killed, an3^ of 
them ? 

A. One ran up on the hill by an oak tree. 

Q. llow far was it, about, that he ran before he was killed? 

A. I think it was about fort3' 3ards from where he started to 
run, before he fell. 

Q. Where was he hit? 

A. I don't know where he was hit. 

Q. You couldn't tell that? 

A. From where I was I couldn't tell where he was hit. 

Q. You went up there and saw where he was lying? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You don't know whether he was hit in the head or the 
body? 

a". No. 

Q. You don't know how many times he was hit? 

A. One was sliot three times after he was wounded. 

Q. Wliereabouts was he hit? 

A. I don't know. 



125 

Q. How do 3^ou know he was shot then? 

A. Well, he was shot. 

Q. Whereabouts was he shot ; 

A, I couldn't say; I didn't go to him. 

Q, Do you know that he was shot? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How do you know it ? 

A. Because I saw him shot; and then I saw them drag him 
by the foot and shoot him again. 

Q. With a gun or a pistol? 

A. With a pistol. 

Q. You don't know whether they hit him or not? 

A. The man is dead; they buried him. 

Q. What is his name? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. How do you know that he is dead ? 

A. Because he is dead. 

Q. You say you know, of 3'our own knowledge, that he was 
shot three times after he was killed ? 

A. Of course. 

Q. And you know that when they took him by the foot he 
was dead ? 

A. He was not dead at that time; he was sitting up, and 
the}^ caught him b}^ the foot. 

Q. Did he fall ? 

A. Yes; when they first shot him he fell, and he got up and 
went a piece, and fell again. 

Q. Do you know, of your own knowledge, whether they hit 
him at all or not ? 

A. Now, I didn't see the ball-hole ; I didn't see it with my 
own eyes, but of n.y own belief, he was killed. 

Q. Do you knovv that these men hit him after he fell? 

A. They shot at him, and dragged him b}' the foot. 

Q. You don't know, of jour own knowledge, that they did 
hit him? 

A. I didn't see the shot hole. 

Q. Do you know that the men, who 3^ou say went up and 
caught him by the foot and dragged him, that they hit him ? 

A. I didn't see them hit him ; 1 didn't see the hole; I didn't 
see the bullet-hole, but the man is killed and buried; I was not 
close. 

Q. Do you know that there was a bullet-hole in him at all or 
not? 

A. Not of my own knowledge, but he was shot. 

Q. Do you know that the man is dead and buried ? 

A. Yes ; I do know that he is dead and buried. 

Q. How do you know that? 

A. Because the man hauled wood along there; I don't know 
the man's name, but I have seen him haul wood on the road. 

Q. That was one man. Now, where was this other man 
killed ? 

In— 10 



126 

A. Down at the ba5'ou. 

Q. How far was that from where the other man was killed? 

A. It mi<>ht have been fort}^ yards apart. 

Q. You saw him also ? 

A. I saw him also; right in the ba3'ou; I saw him when he 
fell. 

Q. IIow many bullet holes were there in him? 

A. I don't know; but he fell, and he is dead. 

Q. Did anybody go there to him? 

A. Yes; some women. 

Q. Did one of the men go to him? 

A. Yes; some white men; they kicked him over, pulled him 
around, and went otf. 

Q. IIow many did you see killed ? 

A. Three. 

Q. Where was the third one killed? 

A. Just a piece from the other, about twenty yards, may be, 
from tlie other. 

Q. What did the}' do to him ? 

A. lie was not quite dead, and they shot him twice again; 
shot at him ; I was quite close b}' there. 

Q. Did they go up to him before shooting at him again? 

A. Yes; right up on him, and shot at him with pistols. 

Q. Those men were on foot, you say ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Was there a man killed in the branch an} where close 
by there ? 

A. That was one of the men that was killed ? 

Q. Where was he shot ? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. Was the man killed in the branch the one that was shot 
twice ? 

A. One was shot three times, on the hill; the one that was 
shot twice, was in the branch; that was Si. Hope. 

Q. He was shot twice? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And you saw him when he was shot? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Was he running when he was shot? 

A. No; he got in the branch, to hide, and they shot him. 

Q. Was that a good place to hide? 

A. Yes; it was a good place; you couldn't see him, unless 
you gjt right up to him; they went down there and shot blm 
again. 

Q. Was he hid in a good place? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were there any bushes around ? 

A. No. 

Q. How deep was the branch? 

A. Over my head; there was a big bridge there, and you 
would have to come right up on the bank to see him. 



127 

Q. How far were 3'ou from him ? 

A. I was about a hundred yards from him. 

Q. Now, how could j^ou tell that these men went down there 
and kicked him? 

A. I did not say that they went down and kicked him. 

Q. How could you see tliis man in the branch, that these 
men went up on the bank to shoot? 

A. I saw the report of the pistol. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. See and hear, too ? 
A. Yes. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. What does the report of a pistol look like? 

A. First, it looks like powder burning. 

Q. Were these men down in the branch when they shot him ? 

A. The men that shot were up on the bank. 

Q. Did you see the man in the branch, at all? 

A. When I first saw him shot he was not in the branch, but 
he dra.2;ged himself down to the branch, and they shot him. 

Q. You saw him when he was shot the first time? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Was he going the other way — away from the white men? 

A. They all were going the other way. 

Q. He was likely to be shot in the back, then? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. Did he have his back turned to the white people ? 

A. At the time he was shot, he did. 

Q. At that time he was running? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You are certain of that ? 

A. Yes. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. How far had they gone with the fight, when you got your 
gun? 

A. It was might}^ near all over; when the men got down 
from the street and hallowed, " kill all of them niggers,'" I 
didn't know what to do; I knew I was innocent, and I thought 
if they wanted to kill me, an innocent man, I'd have my gun. 

Q. When this man was taken b}* the foot and dragged, was 
the general fight over ? 

A. No; the general fight was not over then; but the men 
were running in a hurry. 

Q. Do you think it was the intention of the white men to 
kill all the black men they could find ? 

A. I have to take a man at his word. 

Q. Do you think it was their intention ? 

A, I don't know the intention of a man. 



128 

Q. What do you think about it; do you think the}- wanted 
to kill nil the black men they could find? 

A. When tiie lighting was going on it looked like it. 

Q. What was the reason that they did not kill more than 
thn-e then ? 

A. I don't know what was the reason. 

Q. Don't you think that they could have killed more if they 
had wanted to ? 

A. I don't know what they could have done. 

By INIr Oessor: 

Q. Do you know any of the parties that did the shooting? 
A. No, sir; I did not know them. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. Did you know the parties that dragged this man by the 
foot ? 

A. No. 

Q. I suppose, seeing him dragged b}^ the leg, and hearing 
the report from the pistol, and see the smoke, 3'ou were satis- 
fied that they killed him ? 

A. Yes. 

J. W. BOURNE, 

Being duly sworn, says: . [JExamination in Chief.] 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. State your occupation and residence ? 

A. I reside in Vieksburg, and am the Assessor of this 
county. 

Q. You were elected wlien ? 

A. I was appointed by Gov. Alcorn first, and then elected — 
this is the second term — in 1871 and I 73. 

Q. Were you in the city of Vieksburg when a committee 
from the Tax Payers' League was a[)[)ointed to demand the 
resignation of certain county otlicials ? 

A. 1 was not present at the time the resignation was de- 
manded; but 1 was in the Court-house. 

Q. When the demand was made for Peter Crosby's resigna- 
tion, you were in the Court-house ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Was any demand made of you to resign ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Was any demand made of any white olHcial to resign his 
office in this county ? 

A. Not that I am aware of. 

By Mr. Ccssor: 

Q Were 30U about here during the fight on the 7th of De- 
cember? 



129 

A. No, sir; I was taken sick on Friday evening, on my arri- 
val tVoni Jackson, and confined to nij* house for eight days, 
during ull the dillicultics. 

Q. You saw none of the shooting at all ? 

A. No; I only heard it opposite my house on Tuesday the Sth ; 
three shots were lired; tliey told me that they had shot a man 
on the opposite side of the street, inside of a house ; he was 
a crazy man ; they called him Crazy Tom; he was an inoffen- 
sive man; did nothing but fish and hunt. 

Q. How many colored men do you suppose were killed 
during those troubles, from the best information you have? 

A. As 1 stated several times, I did not tliink that there were 
over fifty men killed; but since then I have learned of men 
having been killed outside of the city limits that I wjis not 
awaie of at the time; 1 judged from all the information I could 
gather on Tuesday, that there were between forty and fifty 
men killed; but since then, I have learned of others. 

Q. How many altogether ? 

A. I suppose ten or twelve more — perhaps fifteen — sixt3'-fivo 
altogether. 

Q. Did you see any colored men in arms ? 

A. I did not. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. You are the Tax Assessor of the county ? 

A. l''es, sir. 

Q. And have been for five 3'ears ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You say that you have never .been requested to resign 
your office ? 

A. I have not. 

Q. In your judgment, what led the Tax-Payers to invite 
Crosby to resign; was it for the reason alone that he was a col- 
ored man? 

A. Well, I don't know that that was altogether the reason; 
I think they considered his bond insullicicnt, and at the same 
time his color had some bearing upon tiie case. 

i}. Are there not a great many colored officials in the county, 
who have never been requested to resign? 

A. No, sir; none whatever, except what ran away or were 
killed. 

Q. How about the County Treasurer? 

A. He is an exception. 

Q. Are there not members of the Board of Supervisors who 
are colored men ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Hmvc tliey been invited to resign by the tax-payers? 

A. I don't know that they have. 

Q. Have the various magistrates, Justices of the Peace and 
Constables been asked to resign? 

A. One has in this city; Brooks. 

Q. Who asked him to resign? 



130 

A. The tax-payers; at the same time and on the same day. 

Q. Was he waited on by a committee? 

A. Yes; I think he revoked it afterward. 

Q. Then you sa}' that there are a good many county officials 
here who have never been asked to resign? 

A. The Board of Supervisors; I don't know that they have 
ever been asked to resign. 

Q. Has Davenport ever been asked to resign? 

A. I don't think he waited to be asked. 

Q. Has he been asked to resign? 

A. I think they asked him to resign; and he asked them to 
give him a half an hour to consult his attorney. 

Q. Do you think his color was the cause of that request? 

A. In his case I hardly think it was. 

Q. You don't think it was on account of his color? 

A. No. 

Q. What do you think the cause was of that request made 
on Davenport to resign? 

A. I think the}* found that his books and papers, after a 
thorough investigation, showed that he had been direlect in 
his duties, and guilty of misdemeanor in office. 

Q. What is your politics? 

A. I am a Eepublican. 

Q. You were in Vicksburg on the 7th of December, the day 
of the fight? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you think, under the circumstances and the state of 
feeling here, that it would have been prudent to have allowed 
all those armed colored men lo have come into the city? 

A. I don't think they would have harmed any one; I think 
their intention was to come to the Court-house. 

Q. What is your reason for saying that ? 

A. I know the colored people so well in the count}'; I know 
their class of men, and I know their reasons, and that their 
feelings toward the white people have been kindly, except po- 
litically; otherwise the}^ have got along harmoniously. 

Q. Had it been the custom of the colored people to come in 
such numbers into the city of Vicksburg? 

A. I knew of no great excitement at that time. 

Q. Did you not know of the proclamation of Crosby ? 

A. No; not at that time; I saw it afterwards. 

Q. You could not have known anything then of the excite- 
ment caused by it ? 

A. I think there was considerable excitement. 

Q. Don't you know, from what you have heard, that the 
colored people in the count}' were very much excited over 
Governor Ames' and Crosby's proclamations? 

A. No; none on this road — the Yazoo valley road — were ex- 
cited on that morning, the 7th of December. 

Q. You have not been informed then, that these proclama- 
tions were read all over the county on Sunday ? 
A. No. 



131 

Q. Do you think it would have been safe to have allowed a 
large body of armed men, from the country, to have come into 
the city on that da}' ? 

A. Not if the white citizens intended to attack them; be- 
cause that certainly would have brought about bloodshed; but 
I honestly believe,' that if three or four good men had gone 
out on the road and taken Crosby with them and brought 
Owens in, that every one could have been turned back to their 
homes, and that they would not have attempted to come into 
the city at all. 

Q. Who do you think was responsible for the attempted in- 
vasion of Vicksburg on that day ? 

A. I could not say; under that proclamation of Crosby's, to 
come in and sustain him as Sheriff, under the existing law, 
they certainly had as much right to come in here as the white 
citizens had. 

Q. Do you think that Crosby's proclamation was in accord- 
ance with law ? 

A. I think that the terms were more harsh than necessary; 
I think it could have been couched in milder language. 

Q. Don't you think that that proclamation of Crosby's had 
a very exciting tendency among his friends ? 
A. I cannot tell to what extent it was read. 
Q. But with those to whom it was read ? 
A. With a certain class — yes. 

Q. From the spirit of the proclamation and its language, 
don't 3^ou think it had a tendency to excite his friends very 
much ? 

A. I think it would, especially if they thought that the Sheriff 
had been badly treated; it naturally would; still, I think, not to 
that extent, but what they could liave been controlled. 
Q. You reside here ? 

A. Yes; I have been living in this city three or four years. 
Q. Have you ever known, on any previous occasion, so many 
armed colored men attenapt to enter the city in a single day ? 
A. No, sir; I^never knew an occasion of that kind. 
Q. Being in the city at the time, do you believe that if Gov- 
ernor Ames had come to the city of Vicksburg in his official 
capacity, and called a meeting of the people, colored and white, 
and stated to the tax- payers in the first place, that he recognized 
the existence of these troubles here, and that he, as Governor, 
intended to see that the laws should be faithfully executed, 
and that if Crosby had not made a good bond, he must make 
a good bond, do you believe that that would have averted the 
troubles? 

A. I think that it would have been an unprecedented case, 
his coming here; I don't think it had anything to do with it 
at all ; I don't think they would have paid any more attention 
to him thai! to an}^ one else; I am just judging so from the 
tenor of the organs. 

Q. P^'om the ntwspapers ? 

A. Yes; the organs of the city. 



132 

Q. Were the newspapers conducting these troubles here? 

A. They have had a heap to do with it. 

Q. Do 3^ou know anything about the cause of complaint on 
the part of the tax-payers, about the insufficiency of Crosby's 
bond ? 

A. I think that that was one complaint. 

Q. Do you know anything about it ? 

A. I understand they say — the tax paj^ers say — that the 
bond is utterly worthless. 

Q. About the time these troubles came up, and this demand 
was made on Crosby to resign, was not that during the tax 
paying time ? 

A. Yes; the books were then open for the collection of 
taxes. 

Q. And the largest portion of the taxes would have been 
collected within the next thirty days ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And it would have passed through his hands? 

A. Ye,. 

Q. Both State and countj^ taxes ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Who paid the largest portion of the taxes ? 

A. The land-owners, of course. 

Q. The white people or the colored people? 

A. The white people own the largest portion of the land. 

Q. You are the Tax Assessor ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. About what proportion of the taxes do the white people 
pay in the county ? 

A. I should say four-fifths. 

Q. What is the proportion of colored and white citizens in 
the count}^ ? 

A. I suppose they are colored three to one. 

Q. You know nothing of the fight on ihe 7th of December ? 

A. No; on 13^ what I heard. 

Q. Through what means do you derive your information as 
to the number that were killed here ? 

A. From colored and white citizens; I just divided the dif- 
ference; most of the whites say that seventy-five or a hundred 
were killed; I think they rather magnified it. 

Q. What do the colored people say ? 

A. They don't think there were so many killed. 

Q. How many do they say ? 

A. I have heard some say twent}' five, some thirt}', and some 
fifty — not over fifty; but I don't think they had any definite 
means of arriving at the number of killed. 

Q. Do you know of any effort on the part of the tax-payers 
to have the Board of Supervisors called together to inquire 
into the sufliciency of Crosby's bond, and require him to give a 
new bond ? 



133 

A. Yes ; and they met, and the bond was accepted; I was 
present at the time it was accepted. 

Q. When was that bond accepted? 

A, I don't remember; it must have been about six weeks 
ago, perhaps two months; the minutes of the Board will show. 

Q. State whether, when the bond was presented, there was 
not objections urged as to the sufficiency of the bond? 

A. Yes. 

Q. B}' whom? 

A. Generally by the same parties. 

Q. By what is known as the tax-payers ? 

A. Some were tax-pa^-ers, and some did not paj' a cent; 
those that made the most noise paid the least. 

Q. Those that belonged to that organization? 

A. Yes; they said they did. 

Q. Who were those men making the most noise and paying 
the least taxes ? 

A. Men livino" in town. 

Q. You know them — name them? 

A. I don't desire to answer that; I decline to answer that 
question; there are only three or four active white Republicans 
in town, and they have to sing mighty low. 

Q. Is not Judge Morris a white Republican? 

A. I believe he claims to be a Republican. 

Q. Is not Gordon Adams a Rejniblican? 

A. I don't know; he has not affiliated with the party. 

Q. Is not Fied. Speed a Republican? 

A. He has not been in politics. 

Q. Does a man have to be a politician in order to be a Re- 
publican ? 

A. No; not by any means ; I don't know what these men are, 
or whether they claim to be Republicans or not; they have taken 
no active part in politics ; I don't know that they have ever 
voted; I don't know whether they have affiliated with the Re- 
publicans. 

Q. How do you know that there are only three or four white 
Republicans here? 

A. I mean those that are allied with the Republican party 
as it stands to-da}^; those who take an active part, and those 
who take an interest in the candidates on the ticket when 
nominated. 

Q. And adhere strictly to the ticket? 

A. Yes; taking an interest in it; I have not heard of Speed 
or Adams taking anv interest in the Republican part}'. 

Q. Are they not recognized as Repuldicans? 

A. I have not heard tliem spoken of recently in connection 
with the Republican party. 

Q. Is not Furlong a Republican? 

A. You know as much as I do about that; he sits in your 
body; he is not so regarded — as a Republican — to-day; at least 



134 

ho is not nlTlliatiniy with tiio Kvpuhlioans to-day; though, 1 
bt^lii'vo, \\v rlniins to hv n KrjublicMU. 

C^. Mow is ('apt. [.like w^ixawWdY 

A. 1 think ht> is a kind of Couservativo. 

Q, Ami not H Kt^piihlii'nnV 

A. A Consorvaiivo lvoi)iihlioan; I don't consider him a citi- 
Kcn of tho place. 

Q. I (hv^ireti^ know, now, \vhut ymir iletlt»ition ol' an active 
Kepublican is V 

A. I uican a n»an who takes a deep interest in tho welfare of 
the Repuhlican party, and in the selection aiid electii>n ot" its 
candidates. 

(^,. Von were here on tluMlay oi' the light? 

A. I w as here. 

Q. Were yon on the street that day ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. What is unir iiilni luniiou as lo who participated in that 
(Ight, or is it not yonr int'ornialion that all white i'iiizens in 
Viekshnrg, irrespective of party, participated in it V 

A. No ; 1 know one v/ho positively refused to go ont. 

Q. Were there not many lvepiil>licans that did gi> t>nt V 

A. Nv>; 1 kiu>w of no Kepnblicans that w\ntout. 

Q. l>id not Adams go (^nt V 

A. I don't know wlu^thcr he did or not 1 am not aware of it, 

Q. Yon think, then, that that tight was strictly a tight be- 
tween tl»e l>emocratic and the Kepnblican parties V 

.\. N\>. sir; I don't say anythi!jg of the kind. 

(> !>v> \on know of any Oemocrats that fought on the col 
<»red side oi' this ipiestim^ V 

A. Having been in my house on thai day, I wouUl hardly 
know. 

(^.. Have yi>n heard of any Republican who toughi on tho 
white sivle V 

A. I don't know o( any, 

i}. 'riien it uas strictly a party tight, you think : 

A. I don't know that it was; 1 don't km>w that the party 
had anything to do with thi' tight; the line was drawn pretty 
cU>sely betwciMi the colored and the whites. 

C^. It was more, then, o( a color tight than a political tight? 

A. I think it ternunated tinally so; they ran pretty heavily 
on the cv>U»r Hue; the line was pretty closely drawn when tho 
tight cv>mmenced. 

By Mr. Sireet: 

C^> l>v> you know i'^i' any white ottlcial in this county who 
has bci'n indicted for nialfeasauee in otUce, vu* whoso bond is 
regarded as insnlllcient ? 

A. No; I do not. 

liy Mr. Sullivan: 

l^. \on say it was tho tax payors that asked tho oUicials to 



135 

resign; wovo there not parties participaiin;[>; in iUo. iiiootin<T 
that made the; (U'inn,n(l, tiiat were not tax paytM'H V 

A. I tliink Hojiio did not [)ay any tax at all, and lu'vcr paid 
any taxes, except i)oll tax; and 8otne «Hd not pay that. 

Q. How loiifj; liave you been livin«j^ in Warren county V 

A. Ten years ; 1 have hecui iiore ever sineu Jul} 4, 18()3, the 
time of the surrender of Vieksl)ur*jf. 

Q. You came in here with tlieanny? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You were an ollieer in the army at the time V 

A. Ye«. 

Q. Is it not euHtomary for hirge numbers of colored p;'oplo 
to come into the city of Vicksburg to trade, occasionally V 

A. Yes. 

C^. How many colored peoj)le fro!n the country have you 
8ce I h(;re engaged in various o(rcupations at any one; time? 

A. I iiave seen as many as three or four liundred on a Satiir- 
Oay, and as many as Ilfty or sixty come in on the road to 
political gatiierings. 

• (^. Do you know of any colored men coming in t>n the 
Yazoo Valhsy road on the morning of the 7th ol December? 

A. I learned thattiiore were between two and tinee hundred 
men came in on that road; they were turned back bi'yond the 
National Cemetery, by Mr. iMcCIee and Mr. Axelson, two white 
Republicans, and also by Mr. Chavia, the Ile[)rosentative, a 
colored man; in fact, Mv. Mc(i(;e stopped to see m(; at my 
liouse, and tohl me that Crosby had riMpiestcMl hiui to stop .all 
men coming in on the Yazoo Valley road, if there were any 
armcid men coming, and to request them to g<j home. 

Q. The (piestion was asked you what wouhl iiave been the 
conscfpience if (jIov. Ames' had come into VicUs'uirg; don't 
you know that tiiere was a strong feeling of prejudice against 
liim here, which was " eng(!ndered by newspapens, and by vio- 
lent language and incendiary language ot promiiumt citizens'? 

A. J liave heard no prominent citizens make; any such re- 
marks. 

Q. Hut some citizens? 

A. I know the feeling. 

CI. Hav(; you not heard threats? 

A. Not myself. 

(I. Have you not seen newsi)aper articles that were threaten- 
ing? 

A. Thut tended that way, yes. 

(^. Have you not seen recommendations and suggestions of 
violence in the newsjjapers? 

A. I have seen an aitlcle tliat in tenor was r;ither threaten- 
ing; tin; language, I don't remember now, wh(4her it was 
within the last two or three weeks or not, or in what pa[)cr it 
was. 

C^. Do you think it woidd have been safe for (lovernor Ames 
to have come to Vicksburg at that time? 



:u\ 



A. Yc<h; I tItiiiK ho; I (Idn't. Miiuk l.li«\v would liiivi'. nioltthtod 
liiiii; MH to Ixtiii^ iii»iill,iii|, 1 tloii'l, know iilioiil. UmL 

<,^, Do you not, Uiitili \,\\i\\, \.\ii: /n'Mnii ol' Umi 'Vii\ I^^lll^lKW'H 
WHti liidiMMKHiii hy 11 (luHii'd oil llidii' purl, to iivtMl (Jm« iMiyiticiit 

of |jUti4 Mlto^lM.hlM'; Mini WMM lIuU'll llol, C.hIhMii^' 111 MlM Sl>ll,l) 

fUi orMiHii/iirlJoii III. Miiil' (Juki I.o jircVdiiL Uut pnynKMil ol' 1(IX<^h 
Miroii.^liMiii, llin SImIu? 

A. 1 iloii'l, Iviiosv wImiIIimi- It, wiiH lor Mitit |>in|*MM or iiol.; Imt 
[ llHV(« ItiMtnl il atiid Hint UiU wmri only tin inMii*j;iiriitiv(t inovtr 
liMMili wliicli wonlit lliitilly tixlninl tliroii^lioiiL Uk^ Hliit». 

i-l Do y*>ii I'liiitiv Miiti il, Would \n\ hiiI'm for it l[n|MiM|i'iin to 
toHtlly mi^mIiimI. indlvidniiU mi'j.iiu.ud In tlin lutu liot und liiiiur 
ri<«tloiiV 

A Nil, lilr, I doii'l lliiidi It would 

Ity INIr Ntrtioti 

i|. Do ytUI know Wlllit tour. Ill Ui«^ , Illy Am-Ixmi (iimI IMrliiu^ 

turned tlioRiti iiKUi luudi on tli(« Yu/.oo Viilliw road ? 

A, lli<t\Vin»!i iduviui Mild twtdvt» o'ldonk, I hIimuM Jnd^M-. 

t^. Al'tiu' tim M^litiiiL^ liiid roimniUKUMi ? 

A, Vi^m; luit lii^l'oK^ it Imd I'duiduMl titut HoutUui nl' tlo^ cuun 
try, I tiii|i|toho 

Ity iMi Alli'ii 

(,1 Htiito vvliotluM' (JtUHU'iil I*M('UtM' juid Ool. LoH, ol' Oovarnnr 
Aiiii'w' hU\\\\ worn not in VirkHlmrM nt tli(< tinm of tliln oxclto- 
huuit, on SMturdii.\ niid Sundny JM't'nro l,lir ll,u;lit ? 

A, 1 undiM'Mtnod tlii\\' wtu'n ; I dmi'i. kn<»w. 

(I Diui*t yon tliink tliMt (otv. AiiK^i wiMild Imvt^ Immmi (|iiiih 

liN ii»ir»« iuu'»< M,rt tiit^y w«u'»< y 

A, Yt^Kt; I think Ih^ wmild, I \in<lt^rNtMntl It wuh kiiul of 
(U'ltliwil tor tlicin for u wliilr, tlo^y wtut^ in rallnu' n iiitiiMl 
HitniUion. 

(7 NVlio dhl you Uuu'n Hint IVouj V 

A. Wliiui llioy \v»uo in t.ln^ ( \uiit Iioiiho hoiiio |immhim'h I»v 
liuidi^ llio iiiiuiiK to luc (id I^(M^ nnrt lo Mmiiu^ I'nr tliih wliolo 
tlihlM, 

C^t ^•'U lli\'lld •»! lio \ Inli'ilt't^ IkMII;.' <)|Ii'I(m| (o lllo:i(» g(MltIo^ 

inon V 

A. No; I think Hint nwrion proNallod in tln^ niattiu', and I 
(liin't tliink lliat pmlialily tlio laMtiU' cIkhn «d' cili/.rnH wmild liavn 
IiIIowimI it, or 1 hat t liiy woiihl liMNt^ um(mI IhiUr itrtUlM (<> havtt 
hi't^N ciiUmI \iid(MiO(t; ImiI. \vh> ii paitioM gut ttxuittMl and a intd) 
liUM ronlrni, it. \n hard to ^«u. any lutliuun'o ov»u' tluin. 

(jl, On (ho day (d' Iho it^MUumut of tho pioclainitinn of Do- 
t'tuidnu' 5, 1874, l»y tJov. Anu»«, wh« thoru any rloious m dinor- 
ilorlv piUHiMirt in \'U'k»ilMir^; mi thill Satiirdiiv was liicr.' a iindi 
hortv? 

A I was iu»l prrwiMil. Iuu(\ and tMiild not Ma\ . 



i:{7 

(,1. I)l<! yo« iK'ttr rtuyiMnf^ of a i/i';l» li«ni ttn Hwtunlwy, ih« 

A No; J lM'ur<i nothing/, 

Jiy Me ( Ar.imnih ; 

<,^, llavf fjfiy i',\Kit'i(i*H (*Vt*t' \hU*,U r/»a'l<', w^^riluwl ()<<; o/l)':JaI 
r||tt>'<M'-t«>' of (/V*>M(>y V 

A, Not i)n*t f JlKI ttW/lK- '/I, 

A. I (/*^)l<rv<t *<^ 

Uy Mr, OwMor: 

Q, HuiUi wUtdUt'ff In your 0|/InJ//fi, tli« nti\('4*,rM of Ui<^ Tttx- 
l'uy«»'»*' i^'tii/ui', know <ill Mm-: ''olor'td o(l)''J//U lu Mi<< rouMty, 

A, I »{m/oI<1 ju'lj4*', tliut IJmjh^ u/'« tnifni\ti',i4 of Uoit orj{fO<j/ft 
UoM lUtii ku'tw iUitm tiii, 

<^ Vow »Ufc«<l iUtii yoii Utul uf$m tm timtiy m ihr^<< or four 

|/lO'pO<«<'« V 

A, Wx; tt«<J <4¥ mtiuy tm i]iiy on tli« ro^t^l, 
<^ Wli'^H you «aw lltout, <li'l i;l«t'y <^otui< W'iUi unn^. V 
A. Hoffi<;</J>n<t« t)i«'y woul'l tniui*> wiU< uu ol<i l/lun'i'ril/Urt or 
pUt^/l; ImiI iliity wt;r« not t{tt>M',rttHy Mrnne4, 

IJy Mr, OHIj 

il Iht ytm iUlnk iUnt H wonl'l liavt* hm$t (/roj^wr for (>ov, 
A»M'i< to httVi< tuttiio, intra U) <'or/<)>rofiiU« wjtii it unui^n^r of 
/n«'/«, who i-iiu'tui'A Ut \n% if not t.ftnli oWiui, »,t )* u»»t j/rt'uily Jn 
i\m'in'i*j\ \f\ Mr, M<;(/<irill.i, fifM^r Um ulMiteiv*? antl In«»ultint5 Iwn 
\iu',ii/i' u»»t','l l^y M<'^;/ir<l)A* itj hj» \iti,[n*y( 

A . So; i i.lrioU /«ot. 

iJy M ;, hiol/VJo< ; 

C^ Ihf yoii not tl<ink thut tli« nation of tli« ith\/,ttu*i li«w. 
WW49 lm«i'/j,IU> MonMMt«(t4fnt, on /i'l<'*»lr« to JntJ/n)'J/tt*< th<^ c^olor^a 
vot''r«, *»o a« v» (>r<'V<'iit tlM^Jr votlnf< uX fntnr<{ nimiiiifHH V 

A, Jt J//ok»'<i I hut wity, i,^/ ni*<, 

<<^ Mitiv«; yon noi t^M^l it «iAit<'4 in thii* Ufwn, timt i)<(» 
lU'tutfi nwy wonl'l luirry iin*, tntai idt'j'Xiim nntt wwy or Hnotfj«r; 
ll<jit tiM'y ¥fi'\i' l>ouu<i to <'ttr»y it, ttltl»o«i;/)i Di*' l(<'|/UlJi';afj4« 
Utu\ a mti'ypvhy of tdlrty ttv<t Uuut\n*A '( 

A, ( )M'ttr<J on<< )t('|/uiiM<'un oift^i ih inX nn- lUui Un:-. ''yu/dy 
woul'l go 0<^n<0':iaO';; I u:?U<>«l loni lij/ori whut )m< hta^^'i U'm 
opinion, H'iiflitttnthority; ttn<i itf, naUi'. *'Wt'M, yon'li wa'; you*H 
H*ii',; yon *»*<<t how w«{ *»<<{ />ov/ " 

Hy Mr, r;«)/Iw«ll; 

••^ If til*? W)mU< |/*:Oj/H' »/fl/t M'l UM- '»/('>f«'i l/«'/J/M' '',»»)( )f<l>/ 

thtj city in Um? 7th oi IfoA'^mintr, 4o yon ht^l)<;vt5 tlitTf, wonhl 



138 

have been any fighting or disturbance, unless the white people 
had fired on them ? 

A. Not if they had acted as set forth in my testimony; if 
they had sent out two or three prominent men and met these 
parties, they could have been turned back without any 
difficulty. 

Q. Would there have been any fighting done, if the whites 
had not pursued them and fired into them ? 

A. I cannot say, not having been an eye witness; but from 
what I know of the colored people, I dcm't think it was neces- 
sary that there should have been any bloodshed; I think they 
could have been controlled without it. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. Do you think that the colored people were more peace- 
abl}' disposed than the white people ? 

A. [ do, most assuredly. 

Q. Do you think that these prominent white men would 
have had more influence with the colored men than Adjutant 
General Packer ? 

A. I think they could have had just as much influence; I 
believe so, because when Senator Furlong was elected Sheriff 
of this county, during the melee when this street was crowded 
with colored people, and a riot had commenced below, when 
Senator Furlong was attacked, Col. Miller got up and made a 
speech here, and they all quietly got up and went to their 
homes: and ihey were more excited then than now. 

Q. When was that ? 

A. At the November election, in 1871; Col. Miller made an 
address to the colored people when the streets were lined and 
crowded, and a mob had just attacked Senator Furlong. 

Q. Col. Miller addressed himself to the white people then ? 

A. No; he spoke to the colored people. 

Q. Was there a mob of colored people ? 

A. No; the mob was down town. 

Q. The crowd was up here (by the Court-house) voting at 
the time ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What do you think constitutes a mob ? 

A. Well, I don't know; they say it takes three to make an 
unlawful assemblage; the colored people are easily controlled, 
if you can get them quiet, so that they will listen to you. 

MARGARET THOMAS, 

Being duly sworn, says: [Examination in Chief.] 

By Mr. Sullivan : 

Q. Were you present, on the 7th of December, and if so, 
state what you know about the killing of Tom Bilterman? 



I 



139 

A. The cavalry came along, on Tuesday night, after the 
fight on Monday. 

Q. AVhat sort of cavalry — white or colored? 

A. Tlie}' were white men; I was sitting down at the fire, 
with my bab}'; and these men halted at the door, and said: 
"We had better go in;" Tom was in my house then, sitting 
down; he got up and went to the doov; these men said to him: 
"Hallo, have you any gun in there?" Tom said, "yes;" they 
asked, " whose gun is it?" he said, /' it is mine;" and they said 
they wanted it. 

Q. What did Tom say tlien> 

A. He said: "You can't get it, it is mine;" they said, "we 
can't get it, you say ?" he said, "no, sir;" they then hauled off 
and shot him. 

Q. Did they come in the house? 

A. No; the}^ never came in until after they shot him. 

Q. What did they do after they had shot him? 

A. They asked where was that gun; I told them, "there it 
is," and I showed it to them, and thev took it. 

Q. Was Tom Bitterman white or colored? 

A. He was a black man. 

Q. Had he been engaged in the fight ? 

A. Not that I know of. 

Q. Was he an inoffensive, quiet man? 

A. Yes; he was an old man, seventy years old. 

Q. Did they take anything else but the gun? 

A. No; only one man came in, and he said, "Auntie, he 
never would have been shot if he had given me the gun." 

Q. Do you know who that man was? 

A. He was a heavy set-man, with a clean face. 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. Do you know whether this was Tom Bitterman^s gun or 
not? 

A. I don't know whether it was his own or not; I heard him 
ss.y, two or three weeks before he was shot, that it was not 
his gun exactly, that he had borrowed it. 

Q. He did not say who he borrowed it from? 

A. No, sir, he didn't say. 

Q. What was his business? 

A. He just hunted all the time, when he could; he was an 
old man; he could not do any work; he hunted and fished. 

*By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. Do 3'ou know anybody who does know who shot this 
man? 

A. No; I don't know who shot him. 

Q. Do 3'ou know anybody who does know, then? 

A. No; I don't know. 



140 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. W'li.'it kind of a nun was it? 

A. A double- barrel <?iin. 

Q. VVIiJil time of night was it? 

A. \l)(>Lit nine o'clock, as near as I can judge. 

Q. Did he die? 

A. Yes; he was killed. dead. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. You say that he went to the door? 

A. Y^es, sir. *• 

Q. And they told him that they wanted that gun ? 

A. Yes; and he told them that the}' could not get it. 

Q. That was all that })assed ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And then tiie}' shot him? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How many men were there in that party ? 

A. I don't know how many; there seemed to be seventy or 
eighty. 

Q. Were they on horseback ? 

A. Some were on horseback, and some were walking. 

Q. Did you get up out of your seat? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What did the man say when he came in the house? 

A. He said: ''Aunty, where is the gun?"* I said: "Up 
there," and showed him. Then he said: "Aunt}', he never 
would have been shot, if he had given me the gun; all I want 
is the i.nin." 

By ISfr. Sullivan: 

Q. Was he not a half-witted, part idiotic — a sort of foolish 
old man ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. He was almost an idiot ? 

A. Yes. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. They could not have told from the answer he gave but 
what he was a man of good sense ? 

A. 1 don't know. 

MICn.\EL SLATTERY, 

Being duh' sworn, says: [Examination in chief.] 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. You live in town ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Whereabouts do you live ? 

A. At Jerry Haley's. 



Q. What is your occupation ? 

A. VVorkinu^ for the citv, fixing streets. 

Q. Wliere were you on tlie 7th ot December, the day of the 
riot ? 

A. Working in front of Mr. Coleman's house, staking out a 
lot. 

Q. Was your house searched ? 

A. I had no house; I board. 

Q. What do you know about what occurred on that day ? 

A. I don't know much; I got afraid and went home, and 
stayed two days in bed, with my clothes on. 

Q. What were you afraid oi'? 

A. Of getting shot ? 

Q. IJy whom ? 

A. By those men coming iito town to kill folks, and burn 
houses. 

Q. Was any of j^our propert}^ taken ? 

A. No, sir. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. Who were those people you understood were coming into 
town to kill people and burn places ? 

A. Colored folks; I got afraid and went home; I'll tell you 
the trutii, and nothing but the truth. 

Q. Why did you go to bed ? 

A. I was afraid of being shot. 

Q. Did vou see any colored i)eople with gims? 

A. I did not see them around town; I saw the people run- 
ning from all parts of town. 

Q. Were tliey white or colored people you saw ? 

A. They were white folks. 

Q. Did you suffer any losses b3^ having to go to bed ? 

A. I was a kind of afraid to stay around, and 1 just stopped 
in the house. 

BENJAMIN ALLEN, 

Being duly sworn, says: [Examination in Chief,] 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. State your residence and occupation? 

A. I live on the Grove street or Baldwin's Ferry road, one 
mile from town — one mile from the Vicksburg Court-house; I 
am acting Constable for 'Squire Brooks, deputy. 

Q. Where were you on the 7tli of Decembe;*; and state what 
you know about the fuss tliat took place on that day? 

A. On Sunday night, the Gth of D;X'.ember, Peter Crosby 
and Col. Packi'r came to my house; I was going to bed then; 
Crosby called me; I got up; and he said, there were some men 
coming into town, and if they passed by my house for tne to 
tell them not to come in; and if they come in he thought there 
In— 11 



142 

would be a fuss, and for them to go home; the next morning, 
about six o'clock, I went up the road, and I met Doctor Hunt 
and Andrew Owens coming toward me; I talked to Andrew 
Owens; he came up to me, and I asked him if there were any 
men coming behind liim, and he said, yes, there were men 
coming on: I then told him to give me liis horse, that Peter 
Crosby had told me to tell them not to come into town; I got 
on his horse and went to Peter Crosby's house, and in about 
twenty minutes after I got there, I heard the Court-house bell 
ringing; and in about fifteen minutes, in comes Doctor Hunt; 
he told Peter Crosb}^ to get up and come to him ; after he 
came in the house, he called Peter Crosby and spoke to him; 
what he said I didn't hear; a little while after he told Peter 
Crosby to put on his coat and come on wilh him; then I started 
out at the door with him and Doctor Hunt, and up rode Doc- 
tor Shannon and pointed a pistol at me, and said: "God damn 
you, don't you come out or PU blow your damned brains out;" 
I still walked on toward Doctor Shannon, and when I got to 
the gate, Doctor Hunt held up his hand to me and said: "Go 
back, or Doctor Shannon ma}^ shoot 3'ou;" then Doctor Shan- 
non said: "You damned son of a bitch, come. out here;" and 
I came out of the gate; he then told me to go on up toward 
the Court house; Peter Crosby's brother also came out, and he 
commenced whaling him over the head with a horsewhip. 

Q. Who did that — Doctor Shannon? 

A. Yes; and he then said to him: "You damned son of a 
bitch, your brother is the cause of all this fuss; I have a good 
mind to blow your brains out;" and he said: "Youdamntid 
son of a bitch, you had better run;" he then went up to Horn- 
thal's corner ; Doctor Shannon taking me and Crosbj^'s brother 
up by Hornthal's corner, and he turned us over there to two 
other gentlemen, and he told them to take us up to jail; one 
of them is a man who keeps the compress, Mr. Sneed; he 
then brought me up here to the Court-house with him: and 
there Peter Crosby was, outside of the gate, before the Court- 
house; I asked him to let me go home, that I had some medi- 
cine for my wife, who was sick; he told me that I could not 
go home, that I had to go to jail; he then put me in jail, on 
Monda}', about nine o'clock; on Tuesday night, about ten 
o'clock, Willie Green and iNIr. Lea's son, Albert Lea, came in; 
Judge Lea's son had a list in his hand, and called out the 
names of men who he wanted to go and bury the dead; he 
called out the name of Andrew Owens, 'Squire Stith and Alex- 
ander Scott, and he called for Allen Richardson, but he was 
out; he said they wanted us to go and bury the dead; I told 
them that I was not going anywhere; that that wasn't no time 
to bur}^ the dead, and if they wanted to kill me, to kill me 
right there in jail; on Wednesday I stayed in jail. 

Q. W^hat did they do, when you told them you would not go 
out and help bury the dead? 

A. Captain Beaird came there, and I called him off and 



143 

asked him whether he ordered those men to call on me to bury 
the dead; he said no, that the sexton was to bury all the deacl; 
they kept me in jail until Monda}^ and then they turned me 
out, one week after the fight. 

Q. What did the others do who were called on to go and 
bury the dead ? 

A. None of the others would go, because I would not go. 

Q. Were not those men they called for to go and bury the 
dead prominent colored men ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And one of them was a Justice of the Peace? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And you had taken a conspicuous part in politics? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Had you not good reason to believe that they would take 
you out for the purpose of killing you ? 

A. That was my belief. 

Q. Did you believe that they called on you to take you out 
for the purpose of killing you ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. That is all 3-011 know ? 

A. Yes; while I was in jail they came to my house and 
went in and searched, to see whether I had any guns there ; 
my wife told them I had no guns; and she wanted them to 
show her a writ — a search warrant. 

Q. Did they take anj^thing at 3'our house ? 

A. No, sir. 

By Mr. Cessor: 
Q. Did they search 3'our house ? 
A. No. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Did Owens' men stop and turn back when you told them? 

A. Yes; they stopped right there, the other side of mj 
house. 

Q. Did they never come any farther ? 

A. Not that I know of. 

Q. How long did you sta}' there ? 

A. I came on in town, and before I could get back again 
they put me in jail. 

Q. How far were they from your house ? 

A. They were right at my house; stopped right at m}' 
house; Andrew Owens and Dr. Hunt were the onl}^ ones that 
came on to my house; the others stopped behind. 

The Committee adjourned until to-morrow, January 2d, at 
10 o'clock, A. M. 



144 

SIXTH DAY. 

ViCKSBURG, Januaiy 2, 1875. 

Tho Committee met pursuant to adjournment; all the mem- 
bers being present. 

HANNAH ALLEN, 

Being duly sworn, sa3^s: [ExamiRcition in c/a'e/.] 

B}^ Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. You live in Vicksburg, on Grove street ? 

A. Yes; a little outside of the corporation. 

Q. You are the wile of Benjamin Allen ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. State what you know about the fight that occurred on 
Monday', the 7th of December, and what you saw. 

A. I saw a great many men on the road; I did not know 
what it all meant; I came out of my house into the road; me 
ana several other women, neighbors of mine, who live next 
door to me, onl}" a short distance apart; we were standing out 
there looking at them; there were a great many colored men 
there that we knew. 

Q. What kind of men were they that you saw on the road, 
colored or white ? 

A. They were colored men, coming toward the city; they 
went on t'>ward town; then I saw a good many white men 
riding to and fro; I didn't know what in the world it meant; 
we were talking to one another, we ladies there; the white 
men all appeared to be sufficiently armed; they had pistols 
and guns; it put me in mind of war times; it scared me; I 
did not know what to think of it; presently I heard them say 
thev were going to have a fight. 

Q. Who said that? 

A. I heard a white man say so, a gentleman who lives just 
above nn^ Mr. Murphy ; he said that from what he could see 
and learn, that they were going to have a fight; that they had 
gaihered around there for a fight; presently the colored men 
came back and said they had made a compromise, that the 
thing was made up, and they were going home; there were a 
go.)d many colored men that we knew, and they were laughing 
and talking; we three woman and five or six children were 
standing there right in the road, just below m^' house; and 
the colored gentlemen were going b3', and they said that they 
were going home; they were joking and very jovial; then, in 
a few minutes, just above us, the road was covered with white 
men; the colored men had passed to the left, and the white 
men were coming to the right, towards us, and seemed to be 
following on after those colored men; and the first thing I 
knew there was a gentleman fired a gun on the right; I heard 



145 

the Captain of the company — it seemed to be Horace Miller — 
say: " i)oys, don't shoot! don't fire." 

Q. That was the Captain of the white men ? 

A. Yes; and I heard Doctor Hun& say: "Don't shoot, boys, 
don't shoot;" the}^ were then just on the hill above my house, 
on horseback. 

Q. Did you see the man that fired the first gun ? 

A. I was lookino- rio;ht at him. 

Q. Do you know him ? 

A. I did not know him at that distance, but it seemed to be 
just such a built man as Mr. Furlong: I don't know for cer- 
tain whether it was him or not; I would not say; but in a few 
minutes I heard Col. Furlong's voice; I knew that, in a man- 
ner, saying: "Rally, bo3'S, rally;" and when that word was 
spoken, there seemed so be about fifteen or twenty shots, come 
right over and above m}' head, where I was standing on the 
road; I then ran into one of the neighbor's houses, and tried 
to hide from the balls that were coming in all around, falling 
about the house; several of them went through the house; \ve 
women and children went >n and tried to hide from the balls, 
but I wanted to see, and I saw them through the window; I 
saw them running and loading and firing; I saw a great many 
men I knew, in the fight — which I could not call a fight, be- 
cause the firing was only from one side; I call it just one party 
firing at the other. 

Q. Was there not a few shots fired from the colored side ? 

A. I did'thear any; I heard the Captain of the colored men 
say, "boys, don't fire back;" that was after the first shot; that 
man I am well acquainted with — Andrew Owens; I heard liim 
speak those words. 

Q. Did you see the colored men, when the firing commenced? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were the}' retreating, or standing still, when that shot 
was fired? 

A. They were going along the road, toward home; all in the 
road, 

Q. Had they not stopped a moment? 

A. No; the}'' were walking along; just as the}'' came across 
the bridge, beyond our house, then the white gentlemen fired 
on them ; and then they scattered in every direction, on each 
side of the road, trying to dodge, the best way they could, I 
su))pose. 

Q. Did you see any dead bodies after the fight? 

A. Yes; The first, of my knowledge of any one being killed, 
there was a white man on the road passed the window where I 
was standing, and I heard him say, "boys, have you any hot 
coflfee here;" and they said, "no, by God, we have no hot cof- 
fee, but we have some cold blood;" then I said, "Lord, there 
is somebody killed;" then he passed on, and there was another 
man came along; there was a woman living just above me; her 
name is Martha Steward — they called her Mat. Steward — and 



146 

she was asked to carry a man, that la}'' on the hill, a drink of 
water, who had fainted; a white man asked her to carry a col- 
ored man a drink of water, who, he said, had fainted; I didn't 
go with her; but she said she carried the water, and the man 
couldn't drink; there was a white man went with her, and he 
told her to wash his face and raise him up, and give him a 
drink; she raised him up, and the blood gushed out of his 
mouth; she said, " this man can't drink;" he said, " what is 
the matter — he ain't shot?" she then pulled up his shirt, and 
she saw blood, and she said, "this man is shot — look at the 
blood;" and she turned away and came back; after that, the 
men scattered from around our place, and quit shooting; I 
then went up to Murphy's store — me and another woman — 
and asked him to go with us to where this man, that was shot, 
la}^, to see if we could not assist him ; Mr. Murph}^ and several 
women then went to this man and tried to help him up, and 
see whether we could do him an}^ good; we raised him up, and 
discovered that he was just dying; we tried to see where he 
was shot, and we found a hole right in the center of his back, 
as big as my three fingers; it was right in the center of his 
back, b}^ the band of his breeches; that is all I know; I saw 
three dead bodies near my house. 

Q. Did 3'ou see an}^ white men shoot any colored men as 
they were lying on the ground? 

A. No, sir; I did not see that myself. 

Q. Did 30U hear of it ? 

A. I heard of Si. Hope being wounded, and another man 
rode up and shot him; I didn't see it. 

Q. Was your house searched ? Did any parties come to 
your house ? 

A. There were parties came to my house; it was fastened at 
the time; I was not there; they wanted to break in; I went 
away from home, and asked Mat. Steward to prevent them 
breaking in, if she could ; and she told them not to go in the 
house; she told me that there were some parties came there, 
hunting for arms; but thc}^ did not come any farther than the 
gate. 

Q. Who were the men, you say, you saw, you knew? 

A. In that fight, I saw Dr. Hunt, Mr. Horace Miller, Dr. 
Quinn, Mr. Lewis Clark, Mr. Jas. Ferguson, Wash. Ferguson, 
Jesse Ferguson, and Mr. Furlong; I knew a good mau}^ there; 
I can't call their names. 

By Mr. Cessor: 

Q. Did you see any of the parties do the shooting? 

A. I saw them, yes; I saw man}^ of them shooting; they 
were loading and shooting, going past where I was standing; 
these men, who I saw, were shooting when I saw them. 

Q. Those you have named were shooting when you saw 
them? 



I 



147 

A. Yes; and a great many others; I know their faces, but I 
cannot cell their names. 

Q. Do you know who shot Furman ? 

A. I don't know, only from what I have heard others say. 

Q. Do you know any one that does know? 

A. I have heard Harry Parson soy who shot him. 

By Mr. Gill : 

Q. About how many colored men were there that came to- 
ward town, and went back again, of Andrew Owens' party? 

A. I don't know; about sixt}^ I reckon, as near as I can 
guess at it. 

Q. About how man}^ of them had guns? 

A. Indeed I don't know; there was not many that had guns? 

Q. How many do j^ou think? 

A. I reckon about fifteen guns altogether, as well as I can 
get at it. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. You say you think there were about sixty men in all? 

A. Sixt}' or seventy in all. 

Q. How many white men do jon think there were who went 
after them? 

A. I couldn't hardly tell; they were scattered about so; I 
guess about sixty or seventy. 

Q. Were they all armed with guns? 

A. Ever}^ man T saw was well armed ; some had pistols and 
guns; all except Dr. Hunt ; I didn't see him have any gun. 

Q. Are you certain that you saw Col. Miller. 

A. No, sir; I did not see him fire at all; nor Doctor Hunt; 
but I heard both of these men say before firing — one said: 
'^ Don't shoot;" and the other, "don't fire;" and after that I 
heard Col. Furlong say: " Rally, boys ! rally, boys !" 

Q. Were you looking at Furlong ? 

A. I saw him, I suppose, but I did not make him out until 
he got close. 

Q. Were you looking at the man that fired the first gun ? 

A. Yes; I was looking right at him; he shot his gun up, not 
down the road, as though he was trying to shoot any one; it 
did not hit any one. 

Q, And you think that that was Col. Furlong ? 

A. I think it was, but I would not swear to that. 

Q. Was it a gun he shot, or a pistol ? 

A. It was a gun; one of those guns with bayonets; some- 
thing that shines ver}' bright. 

Q. Was he on a hoise ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How far were these white men from you when the first 
gun was fired ? 

A. As well as I can come at it, about a hundred yards. 
Q. Had they passed you ? 



148 

A. No; they were coming toward me. 

Q. Were they galloping or walking their horses? 

A. The}' seemed to be going along in a kind of a slow way 
when they first commenced shooting, and then thiy came fas- 
ter down the hill; some of them dismounted, got down off 
their horses, and run and fired as fast as the}- could, going 
down through the cut, when the first balls flew. 

Q. How Tar is the bridge from where you were ? 

A. About as far as from here across the street, or a little 
further. 

Q. About a hundred 3'ards ? 

A. About fort^' or fifty, I suppose. 

Q. Which way is Murphy's store from you, toward the 
bridge ? 

A. No ; toward town. 

Q. How were these men going when the first shot was fired ? 

A. Right along in a row, like men would walk along the 
road. 

Q. Did they scatter or commence running when the firing 
commenced ? 

A. Yes ; when the first gun was fired, and then I got out of 
the wa}-; the}' scattered out of the road when the white men 
shot; thej' shot right down the road; I was standing on the 
side of the road, and the balls flew down the road; it put me 
in mind of war times; I went back and went under the house. 

Q. How long did 3'ou sta}' there under the house ? 

A. When the balls commenced falling on the house I was in 
there, and then I got out ol" the back door and went under the 
house, and sta3'ed under there until the}' ceased firing; they 
were firing a good while after they went past my house. 

Q. Did you stand on the side of the road until the white 
men passed? 

A. No; as soon as the firing commenced so severely, I went 
back in the room, and looked through a window glass as the 
white men passed. 

Q. And about that time you went under the house ? 

A. Yes; they had not all passed; some had; there were a 
good many had passed ; the firing was coming pretty briskly 
from there still, after I went under the house. 

Q. Did you start in the house when the first gun was fired ? 

A. No; I was looking at them, and I said: "Pshaw, them 
men ain't going to shoot; that man shot in the air;" then, 
presently, 1 heard the voice of Col. Furlong say: " Rally, boys, 
rally." 

Q. You think that was the same man who shot in the air ? 

A. I don't know; I know the first gun was shot in the air. 

Q. And you don't know who done the shooting alter that ? 

A. Well, I saw several men shoot after that; I saw Col. P'ur- 
long shoot; I saw Mr. Ferguson shoot; I saw ,Lem. Clark 
shoot. 

Q. What with ? 



149 

A. With guns; and several others I saw shoot. 

Q. Those are the onl}^ men 3^011 remember that j'oii saw fire ? 

A. Yes ; Wash. Ferguson shot, too. 

Q. Were 3'ou lookimg, before 3'ou ran in the house, at the 
men who were shooting or toward the bridge? 

A. I was looking toward the bridge until some women said: 
"Yonder comes a wliole lot of white men;" then, after the 
shooting commenced, I was not looking toward tlie bridge any 
more; I was looking? toward 'v.diere thev were shootina:; when 
the first gun was fired, the colored men started to run down 
the road. 

Q. Are^'ou sure that it was Captain Owens, or was it one of 
hi'fe lieutenants, that said: "Don't shoot?" 

A. I don't know; I knew his voice ; and I heard Owens' 
voice say: "Boys, don't fire back." 

Q. In 3^our excited condition, would you recognize the voice 
of a man fort^^ or fifty yards off ? 

A. Yes ; I am well acquainted with Owens. 

Q. You were verTy much excited, I suppose ? 

A. Not so much, but what I could hear; if I am in the 
biggest fright and hear a voice, I can tell it ii" I know it. 

Q. You knew from the voice that it was Owens' ? 

A. Yes; he said: "Boys, don't fire back;" that is all I heard. 

Q, And the_y did not tire at all ? 

A. I did not hear the report of a gun that side at all, until 
after the white men passed, and they shot as they went. 

Q. You are certain that the colored men did not fire? 

A. The}' certainly did not tire until the white men passed 
me ; that is all 1 can say. 

Q. You said that somebod}^ went to your house to search 
for arms ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And that they wanted to break open 3*our house? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Where were you then ? 

A In this house — in town. 

Q. How far is your gate from your house? 

A. About as far as from here to that door; these men went 
into the gate, through the gate. 

Q. Into the house ? 

A. No, in the yard. 

Q. If you were in town when those men went to 3^our house, 
how do you know that the}' wanted to search your house? 

A. I don't know any more than what Mrs. Steward said; 
I left her to look after the house. 

Q. Could they not have broken into the house, if they had 
wanted to ? 

A. I don't know; I just tell 3'ou what she said — she said: 
*' There was some fellows wanted to search your house;" and 
I said: "When lam here thev are welcome to see whacis 
here; I have nothing here that I don't want an}' one to see." 



150 ' 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Where was jour husband that morning? 

A. In jail. 

Q. When the fight commenced? 

A. Yes; he came to town tliat mornino:, and the next news 
I got of him they had him brought to jail; I heard that before 
the fight commenced. 

Q. How did he come to town that morning? 

A. I don't know how he came; he ate his breakfast and 
went out on the road, as he always did ; I don't know what 
time he did go out. 

Q. When was Crosby last at j'our house, before that Monday 
morning ? " * 

A. He was at nw house on Sunday night; I heard his voice 
at my gate; I did not see him. 

Q. Was an}^ one with him? 

A. There was another man with him; I did not know his 
voice. 

Q. Who did see him ? 

A. My husband saw him. 

Q. Did 3'ou have any conversation with your husband about 
Crosby? 

A. I asked him who that was; he said it was Crosby and 
another man; I asked him was that Crosby, and he said yes, 
Crosby and another gentlemen; I said: "What is the matter 
at this time of night;" he said that there would be some men 
coming in, and that Crosby said not to let them come in town; 
I said: " What in the world is the matter;" he said: " I don't 
know;" I cannot remember particularly, but as well as I can 
remember, he said: "I don't know. 

Q Did he stop the men the next morning ? 

A. The men had not got there when he went out of the 
house. 

Q. Did any colored men at all pass j^our house coming this 
wa,y before the fight? 

A. Indeed, I don't know; I couldn't tell. 

Q. How lar was the fight the other side of your house ? 

A. It commenced above my house ; the man was killed — one 
man was killed just in the stream under the bridge, about 
twenty or thirty yards to the left; the shooting commenced 
above mj' house. 

Q. This side of 3'our house? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And the colored men had not passed 3'Our house at all? 

A. Yes; they had been past my house and said they had 
been up and made a compromise. 

Q. They were talking jovially and laughing as if nothing 
was the matter ? 

A. Yes; laughing and talking as if nothing was the matter. 

Q. Was Andrew Owens riding or walking when he was going 
to town ? 



151 

A. When he came in town ? Let me study a moment ? 
Andrew Owens, when I first saw him, he and Dr. Hunt weie 
rid i no- tooether. 

Q. And the}" came by your house? 

A. No, sir; Dr. Hunt passed m}^ Iiouse and stopped; and 
then I saw him in the road again; I hardly know how that 
was; anyhow, when I saw Andrew Owens, he was on foot in 
front of my door. 

Q. How long did he and Dr. Hunt ride together ? 

A. It was just below my house; I didn't pay any attention; 
it was not far; it was between my house and the bridge; I re- 
member seeing Dr. Hunt pass my house twice that morning; 
I saw him going out, and then I saw him coming back. 

Q. How near did Dr. Hunt and Andrew Owens ride to- 
gether ? 

A. It was between my house and the bridge — about twenty 
yards. 

Q. Then what did Andrew Owens do with his horse ? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. Did not your husband take his horse and go to town ? 

A. I don't know how my husband got to town; anyhow, I 
expect that was the way ; I could not say for truth; but An- 
drew Owens, anyhow, was on foot, and m}^ husband, when I 
came out, was gone. 

Q. When Owens came back, was he on horseback ? 

A. No, sir; when he went back he was on foot with the 
balance of the men. 

O. How lono; after vou saw that man shoot in the air, was 
it before you heard Furlong say " rally, boys, rally r " 

4. Hardly a minute; it was right directly after the gua was 
iired in theaii', that I heard Furlong say "rally, boys, rally.'* 

Q. How long was it then after that, before the general firing 
commenced ? 

A. Right away; the guns shot right away, and continued to 
shoot. 

Q. Were 3'ou sick that morning ? 

A. No, sir; I was in my usual health; I am never well; I 
am always grunting. 

Q. You say, you examined some of the dead bodies ? 

A. Yes; I was examining them all. 

Q. Do you know in how man}' places they were shot — either 
one of them ? 

A. Si. Hope was shot in three places, it seems; one shot was 
right in the centre here [in the breast], and one seemed to be 
right in the mouth, and another here | over the eye] ; Richard 
Johnscui, I saw but one shot in him, and that was right in the 
centre of his ba^k; the other man was shot somewhere about 
his ear. 

Q. Which one was in the breast ? 

A. Si. Hope; I heard that one man, after he was wounded, 
went right up to him and shot him again, after he was wounded. 



152 

Q. Are 3'ou certain that Furlong had a gun ? 

A. Yes, sir; he had a gun. 

Q. Are you certain that the colored men had not stopped 
when the firing commenced ? 

A. I think they were going along the road, as if going on a 
joui-ney anywhere. 

Q. Were the white men following them, on horseback or on 
foot ? 

A. The first part was on horseback, and then there were a 
great many on foot ; I think I saw some horses loose; they 
got off their horses and run down the road shooting. 

Q. Was Doctor Quinn on horseback or on foot ? 

A. On horseback. 

Q. What kind of a horse did he ritle ? 

A. A dark colored horse. 

DOCTOR D. W. BOOTH, 

Being duly sworn, saj's: [Exainination in chief, ^ 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. State what you know about the troubles here, on the 7th 
of December, 1874? 

A. Abuut four o'clock — three or four o'clock — on the morn- 
ing of the 7th of December, I was summoned to come down 
town; there was some excitement; I got up and dressed; I was 
summoned to come to Colonel Miller's office, on Washington 
street; I went there and found the office closed; It was dark, 
then; I then walked over to the drug store, where my office is; 
I found a number of persons in front of the drug store, most 
of whom I knew; Colonel Miller was not one of them; my im- 
pression was that it was a summon for some thirty or forty 
men to discuss some rumors that were then current, that I liad 
heard the previous evening; I was standing there about a half 
an hour or more; one of the clerks then came in the store and 
kindled a fire; then Colonel Miller came in, and we sat there 
for some time, discussing the rumors which were current; but 
it was generally considered impossible that there could be any 
purpose on the part of the country negroes to come into town 
under arms; I proposed to go up and get a cup of coffee; we 
did so, and waited a while longer; nothing more was heard re- 
liable, 'i.nd I went home, and so did two other gentlemen living 
in my neighborhood; I went home and went to bed, and went 
to sleep; after awhile, I ^ot up to breakfast, and while I was at 
the breakfast table, about a quarter or half- past eight o'clock, 
I heard the alarm bell ringing; I finished ry breakfast leisure!}''; 
I lit a cigar, and knocked around ; directly after, I went to 
the front of my house — on Cherry street — my horse was 
brought out; I got on my horse, and started off to go to my 
office; wh.jn I got on the street, I saw armed men going about 
singh'; I hurried on in this direction, and near the Synagogue, 



153 

I met fifteen or twenty men going out Cherry street; some of 
them informed me that the negroes were coming in on that 
road — the Hall's ferry road — on Cherry street, as well as on 
the Jackson road, and the Baldwin ferry road. 

Q. The Baldwin ferry road is the same as the Grove street 
roaei ? 

A. Yes; I then returned to my house, and did as others 
were doing — got my shot-gun and side arms, and reported for 
duty; they told me that they needed mounted men on Cherry 
street; I went out there; I found a good many armed citizens 
at each corner, and they were telling the colored men on the 
street who were getting together and coming around, to go 
home and to make i&|o disturbance, that we did not want any 
trouble here; I went on out, and found near Finney's house, 
where the white citizens of the town were, that they had 
formed a line on both sides of the road; then I saw a line at 
the old Confederate breast- works, where I saw men said to be 
negroes, their line extending about five hundred yards, as well 
as I could estimate; scattering shots were being fired in both 
directions; I suppose without doing any damage; I was then 
sent back, a little back to the left, between the Hall ferry road 
and the Baldwin ferry road; the Baldwin ferry road forks, one 
portion coming in through the Grove street road, and the 
other coming in near the machine shop, into Harrison street; 
well, there I heard rapid and continued firing on Grove street, 
in this direction; things were pretty quiet on Cherry street, 
except these scattering shots being fired; I then rode up to 
the Court house, and saw the men coming back from Grove 
street; I rode up two or three squares, and met the prisoners 
that were captured during the light on Grove street; I was 
told that the whole thing was over out there ; I was then 
ordered, or requested, to go back and notify Col. French, on 
Cherry street, that these men fi'om Grove street would pass 
down the bottom, strike due south from Grove street, and join 
his command on Cherry street; I went on and reported that to 
C<j1. French, and he requested me to come and meet the com- 
mand a little south of the machine shop, and tell them where 
to report, and station them; I met the comtnand of Major 
Magruder, gave the orders, went back on Cherry street, and 
found that a general advance was being made 'by the whites, 
and with that advance I was ; thei'e were, I think, seven or 
eight mounted men; I was one of them; we charged up that 
hill, on the other side, to the breast-works, right up the Hall 
ferry road, and on top of the hill we could see the negroes 
broken and in full flight; they were pursued some distance b}' 
the mounted men. 

Q. About what time in the day was this last fight ? 

A. I remember looking at my watch as soon as we got 
through; we came immediately, back, and as I reached my 
house, I was notified that a young gentleman, who was acci- 
dentall}' wounded, had been carried to my house; I think it 



154 

was twelve o'clock when I got back; and this advance must 
have occurred between eleven and twelve o'clock. 

Q. Was Doctor Quinn out on that road with vou ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. On the Cherry street road? 

A. Yes. 

Q. About what time did the firing occur on the Jackson 
road ? 

A. I suppose that must have been about eleven o'clock; it 
was just after the Grove street fight; I judge so from the fact 
that, when I got to the Court-liouse road, the men had got in 
from there, and were bringing the prisoners. 

Q. Do you know whether Doctor Quinn had been on the 
Jackson road? 

A. I do not know, but I don't believe he had; he was cer- 
tainh^ not there during the fight, for he was one of the seven 
mounted men. 

Q. What time did you and Doctor Quinn get together in tlie 
morning ? 

A. About half-past nine o'clock, when I returned to the 
house and armed myself, and rode out on Cherry street road; 
Doctor Quinn was there. 

Q. You were with him, then, or know of his whereabouts 
from that time until twelve or one o'clock? 

A. Yes; until the fighting was over on all the roads. 

Q. You were not present when the firing began on either 
side ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Was Doctor Quinn armed with a gun ? 

A. Yes; a Winchester carbine. 

Q. What is 3'our idea, from the best information 3-ou have, 
of the number of killed ? 

A. I made a point to investigate, and commenced the next 
da}'; I was astonished to find the exaggerated number reported 
by our own people, which exaggeration continues to the pres- 
ent time; I knew of one killed on Cherry street; I heard from 
information that I considered reliable of three killed on the 
Grove street road: I know from information that I consider 
reliable — from those who buried them — that there were nine 
on the Jackson road; I heard afterwards that there was an- 
other killed on Cherry street, to the left of where I was, on the 
right of the enera3^'s line, so to speak ; I doubted it a little, 
but was referred to a gentleman who had seen the body; I 
went to him and asked him about it; he said that he had seen 
the body; he did not go up to the bod}^ but he said he had 
seen it; that would make — three and two are five and nine are 
fourteen, and one killed on Port Hill — that would be fifteen 
altogether. 

Q. And to the best information you could get, that was the 
number ? 

A. Yes; and I commenced investigating it the very next 



155 

day; as an evidence of my investigation, I will say this: a 
man told me ot a negro having been killed in town that I am 
positively certain was not so; and he said tnere were three 
killed on Port Hill, and when I pinned him down he said that 
he had seen a cart going there with three coffins. 

Q. You were here previous to these troubles ? 

A. Yes; I have been here ever since 1865. 

Q. You were here on the Saturday before this riot ? 

A. Y^es. 

Q. And 3'ou were here onthe Sunday before the riot? 

A. Y"es. 

Q Were you on the streets generally ? 

A. Y^es, sir. 

Q. Are the facts contained in the proclamation of Governor 
Ames, dated Jackson, December 5th, 1871:, true or false ? 

A. There were no arms used; there was no riot; and there 
were no riotous or disorderly persons here. 

Q. Then that first "whereas" in the Governor's proclama- 
tion — is that true or false ? 

A. It is false, sir. 

Q. The second " whereas " — is that true or false ? 

A. That is false. 

Q. The third "whereas" — is that true or false? 

A. I don't consider that the Courts were paralyzed; I am 
not sufficient lawyer to say, when Crosby's resignation was 
made, whether the Court was paralyzed or not; I presume that 
it was in the powder of the Court to have appointed a Sheriff. 

Q. Y"ou heard of nothing calculated to intimidate the Court? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. In your judgment, then, is that third "whereas" true or 
false ? 

A. It is false. 

Q. The fourth "whereas "—is that true or false ? 

A. There were no threats or intimidation directed against 
them; of course it is false. 

Q. The fifth " whereas "—is that true or false ? 

A. In my judgment it is erainentl}'^ false. 

Q. The sixth " whereas " — I presume you will admit that ? 

A. That is true. 

Q. And the seventh " whereas ? " 

A. That is true. 

Q. Now, in your judgment, if Gov. Ames had come to 
Vicksburg in his official capacity, and had called a meeting of 
the citizens, colored and white, and had assured them on the 
one hand that the county officials should be made to give good 
bonds, and that, if there were any. complaints against their 
official conduct, it should be investigated; state whether there 
was siuy probability that any of these difficulties would have 
occurred ? 

A. None, sir. 



156 

Q. Do 3'ou think that Governor Ames could have come here 
with safety ? 

A. Yes; the people would have been glad to have him come 
here. 

Q. His Adjutant General, and Col. Lee, one of his staff offi- 
cers, were here ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. WtM-e the negroes, who approached the town on that Mon- 
day, generally armed ? 

A. I cannot say. 

Q. Those that you saw, were they armed or not? 
.A. Those that I saw were certainly armed; the line was, 
perhaps, tliree-quarters of a mile distant; I will state this: In 
the a^lvance we made, we found these negroes were scattering 
and lleeing; it was in a section where I generally go bird hunt- 
ing, and I took down after a squad running scatteringly across 
the hill; I pursued them about a mile; finally all the horsemen 
came together again, and in that pursuit one of the negroes 
was cnptured with a gun ; these horsemen all got together in a 
large ravine; I saw thirteen or fifteen negroes together; all of 
them were armed; It is stated — I don't know though person- 
all v — that many of the negroes threw away their arms; they 
left their horses, and we captured six or eight horses and mules; 
most of those I saw were armed, and the one we captured was 
armed. 

Q. Do you know anything about the sufficiency or insuffi- 
cienc3' of Sheriff Crosby's liond? 

A. Yes, sir; the first or the second one? 

Q. The bond he was acting under at the time? 

A. The last bond was given just before these troubles com- 
menced. 

Q. What was the date of it? 

A. I cannot give you the date; along about the latter part of 
November or the 1st of December, within a week or tt^n da3'S, 
or a short time before the troubles, I was present when the 
bond was given; the bond was considered insutficient then; 
quite a number of persons, who had gone on that bond, had 
notified the Board of Supervisors of their desire to withdraw; 
so there was no question as to its insufficiency; the bond itself 
was not worth twenty cents on thf dollar. 

Q. [t was about this time that all taxes due to the State and 
county would have been received; within the next thirt}" da3's? 

A. Yes. 

Q Who paid the taxes generally in the county ? 

A. The white people. 

Q. About what proportion? 

A. It would be a supposition onl}^ on m}'" part; I suppose 
nine tciuhs or nineteen twentieths; or, I suppose, ninetj' nine 
hundredths would nearly reach it. 

Q Do you know anything about the amount of taxes that 



157 

the whole county would probably have paid into Crosby's 
hands within. the next thirty days? 

A. The tax assessed is about three per cent, for county, 
State and school purposes, from the best information I have, 
the total county assesssment is about eight millions; three 
per cent, upon that would approach two hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars ; these are matters that I have not sufficiently 
looked at, but this is m^^ information. 

Q. Had the white people not repeatedly attempted to get a 
meeting of the Board of Supervisors, to require the Sheritf to 
give a good bond? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And they had failed to do it? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know why thb Board of Supervisors failed to 
have that meeting? 

A. No, sir; I know that one absented himself and went to 
Jackson, and from there to New Orleans, to be out of the way. 

Q. Da you think that the opposition to Crosbj^ was alto- 
gether on account of his color? 

A. Not at all. 

Q. Do you believe that with a good and sufflcient bond he 
would have been interfered with? 

A. No; no more than the Count}" Treasurer, Gas Newton. 

Q. You have never heard any portion of your people say 
that they intended to have him resign, because of his being a 
negro? 

A. No, sir; not at all; I never heard a man say so. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. You say that twenty cents on the dollar could not be 
made out of the bond given by Crosby; what do you base that 
opinion on? 

A. On the names of the sureties; my personal knowledge 
of them and knowledge of their means, and from hearsay; 
from investi«'atins: the matter with others. 

Q. Is G. M, Buchanan one of the sureties on that bond? 

A. I ne\-er heard that mentioned; I don't know. . 

Q. Is not B. K. Bruce's name there? 

A. I think his name is there, signed by another party. 

Q. Do you know an3'thing in regard to his solvency? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you know anj-thing in regard to James Hill's ability 
to pay? 

A. No. 

Q. You just base your opinion on horesay, then ? 

A. No; there are some of those there, who signed that bond, 
that I do know; I base my opinion upon the investigations 
made at that time, and just afterwarils, upon the assertion of 
people who did know, and kuew that the}- were not worth any- 
thing like what they were put down at; but as to swearing that 
In— 12 



158 

I know it of my own absolute knowledge, I cannot say that I 
do that. 

Q. When you went out on the Cherry street road, were the 
colored people tiring when the whites advanced? 

A. At the time the advance occurred, I had been sent around 
to the left of the line, and stationed a portion of the men, and 
when I rode back the advance was going on ; whether they 
were firing at that time, or not, I do not know; our citizens 
were a liundred or a hundred and fifty yards in advance of 
where I had left them. 

Q. Do you think that the colored people, who came in town, 
meditated an}^ violence against the people of the city? 

A. Yes, sir; I do. 

Q. Why do you think so? 

A. Well; I think so, from the interviews I have heard given 
with others, and from their demeanor; I don't think so from 
any actual absolute fact; I did not see them except during the 
melee; I have no absolute knowledge of my own in this re- 
spect. 

Q. Are the colored people considered violent generall_y? 

A. No; when not under the influence of bad men, the}" are 
quiet and well behaved people. 

Q. It is said in town, that the white people in town did not 
propose to have any negroes in office, anyhow; have you ever 
heard an3'thing of that kind ? 

A. No; I never have heard that stated; I was here during 
the campaign, and from that time to the present ; and when- 
ever a colored man was elected to office, they were allowed to 
qualifj^ without any impediment; and colored men were elected 
in August, at the city election, and there was no impediment 
thrown in the way of their qualifying; in fact, I have never 
heard but one expression in regard to those two men that were 
chosen — that the choice was a good one, and that it was well 
enough to have such representation; they were Keller and Gus. 
Newton; they are as good men as could be selected from their 
people. 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. Were not these colored people that were supposed to 
have been threatening Vicksburg with invasion, mainly the 
same colored people, that were left here during the Confederate 
war, in charge of the wives and children of the Confederate 
soldiers? 

A. I can give you only m}^ opinion, which would not be as 
good, perhaps, as others; as illustrative of the fact that my 
opinion is that they were not; I will state this: My father 
owns a plantation on the Baldwin ferr}^ road, or within a mile 
of it; there were, before the war, and during the war, seventy- 
five or eighty negroes upon that place; there is not a single, 
solitary negro on that palce now that ever belonged to it, or 
who was there before that time; and on the places in the im- 



159 

mediate neighborhood, I can say that there are not one third 
of tha negroes who were there before or during the war; I can 
say, positivel}^ that there was not in either of those squads 
that approached the city on that day, one negro that ever had 
belonged on my father's place; and they have not only left 
that place, but the neighborhood, and almost entirely so, in 
the county. 

Q. Where could the negroes have come from, then, if they 
were not the same who had charge of and protected the wives 
and children of Confederate soldiers? 

A. I did not say that they were not the same negroes that 
were in the South; I say they are not the same that were in 
county, or on this place during the war] 

Q. it is probable that these same negroes protected and sup- 
ported wives and children of Confederate soldiers during the 
war? 

A. Yes; mainly the same negroes; but I thought you alluded 
to the Confederate soldiers' families out here; I thought that 
was your first question. 

Q/ Did 5^ou hear, during the war, of any misconduct on the 
part of the negroes, or did the negroes, by their conduct, 
during the war, get a reputation for peace and faithfulness to 
their masters? 

A. Yes; that has ever been awarded them, and I think very 
justly; they conducted themselves with great propriety during 
the war. 

Q. Were you out with the seven or eight men that advanced 
on the Cherr}'- street road? 

A. Yes; Hall's ferr}^ road. 

Q. Was Doctor Quinn one of those? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were j^on and Doctor Quinn together all the time, on that 
?idvance, until you returned to the city? 

A. We were in sight of one another, sir, and -when we re- 
turned, we rode together to town. 

Q. At the time you spoke of as following a body of colored 
men, who was with j-ou? 

A. A. C. Knadler was with me part of the time; he captured 
a negro, and on capturing him, returned; I was then joined by 
Captain Sharver, and we were together some three or four 
hundred yards, until we were recalled; we were recalled while 
we .vere in this valley, by Doctor Quinn, from the top of the 
hill, who said, " come back," or, " let us go back." 

Q. State as much as you know of what Doctor Quinn did. 
during that charge — what part he took? 

A. I can only say this: I took this station in the road on 
the hiil by the old fine of the Confederate works, and a hun- 
dred yards from there I took down the hill; a few yards 
further on; Mr. Knadler took down the hill ; Doctor Quinn did 
not join me in that bottom; the only two parties who did join 
me there were Mr. Knadler and Capt. Sharver; Doctor Quinn 



160 

left the road and went down a neigliborhood road to the left, 
and from that point he recalled Capt. Sharver and myself, 
from the top of the hill, and from that time on we were 
together. 

Q. Where were 3'ou on the 2d of December, 1874 ? 

A. I think that was the day of the meeting of the tax- 
payers at the Opera House ; if so, I was there a portion of the 
time. 

Q. Were you with the party from that meeting of tax -payers 
that came to the Court-house ? 

A. No. 

Q. You were not in the Court-house, then, when Mr. Crosby 
was asked to resign ? 

A. No, sir ; I was not one of the committee. 

Q. I mean when the whole meeting adjourned to the Court 
house? 

A. No; after the meeting was over, I went to dinner, and 
from my house I went, about four o'clock, to the Court-house; 
I then saw a crowd at the Court house, and I understood that 
Crosby had resigned; I Yv^as not here (at the Court-house) 
when he did resign. 

Q, Were you present at the meeting when the committee was 
sent out, and came back and made their report — the committee 
of ten appointed to demand the resignation of Crosbj^ ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. I suppose you have a pretty good idea of what action was 
had when that meeting came to the Court-house ? 

A. I presume as much as any man in town, who was not 
present; I know the}" came here to ask his resignation; and 
when I came up here that he had given it; I saw no arms here 
when I came up; 1 know the crowd was around the hill here, 
and some few people were in the Court-house when I came up; 
I don't know what had taken place before. 

Q. In estimating the number of killed in the county, do you 
take into consiileration the number of killed since in distant 
parts of the county ? 

A. I don't know an3^thing about that; I have heard rumors 
of from one up to three hundicd; I saw it in the papers that 
a man named Mack was killed, who was arrested in Yazoo 
count3% and brought this way; I saw, also, that another negro 
had been killed by his comrades because he did not care to 
join with them in the invasion; these are the onl}^ ones that I 
have heard of positively. 

Q. Have 3'ou heard of three colored men having been killed 
somewhere in the northern part of the count}', and who are 
still unburied ? 

A. Yes; I have heard such rumor, from a very unreliable 
source, and I do not believe it. 

Q. You don't know that the Board of Supervisors have 
authorized their burial? 

A. No, sir; I don't know anj^thing of the kind. 



161 

By Mr. Cesser: 

Q. How long have 3-011 lived here in this count}^? 

A. I was born and raised here; I have been here since 1840, 
except during the war, when I was in the army. 

Q. Your father owned a plantation here? 

A. Yes; and does now. 

Q. Pie owned a good many slaves ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And there are none of vour old slaves now on the place? 

A. No. 

Q. Is that on account of cruel treatment, or because they 
have bought places and left ? 

A. Well, I suppose 3^ou could answer that better than I; I 
can only answer inferentially; it was true, in regard to a gieat 
many places in my neighborhood that I know of, and in the 
county, I can sately say, that it was not on account of cruel 
treatment that they left; during the siege of Vicksburg I was 
here, and had eight or twelve of my father's men with n-.e; I 
had charge of a hospital here, and those men were on duty in 
and about the hospital, nursing the men; and when Yicksbnrg 
was captured, they were left here; except two, who followed 
me out of the lines and stayed with me till after the war; one 
of them left me a year or two after the war; when I gor mar- 
ried h'^' got married and left me; my opinion, with reference to 
the negroes who lived about here, is tliis: A great many went 
off in the arm^^ a great many were killed, a great man^' died 
of small pox, and there are very few in the county novv; of the 
sixty or eighty who lived on that place of my father's, I don't 
know of ten liviig anjwhere. 

Q. Did you see any colored men on that day that had guns? 

A. I saw this: From the line of breastworks where they 
were, I saw the explosion of guns ; that was where the colored 
line was; I could not see the particular men raise their guns, 
but I saw guns raised and fired from their line. 

Q. Do you believe, that if the whites had stayed inside of 
the city limits, that the colored people would have come in 
town on that day ? 

A. Yes; they were already in, some of them, both on Cherry 
street and on Grove street; thej^ were within the city limits. 

Q, You don't know this old man that was killed at that fort, 
that 3'ou spoke of ? 

A. No; I did not know who he was; I did not know, until 
recently, that there was a man killed there. 

Q. You don't believe that the colored people had anj- feel- 
ings of animosity toward the whites? 

A. Naturally, of their own accord, I think it is none but that 
of kindness; as an illustration of my conftdence in tbem, I 
will say this: On the 10th of December I went to see John 
Jones, a colored man living sixteen miles from Vicksburg; I 
drove to this place, where John Jones and his brother live; 
two very reliable men, who own land, and wbose word to me 



162 

is as good as anybody elses; I asked tliem if any of the peo- 
ple on their place had taken part ir this trouble; they told 
me that none of the old ones had, but, the}^ said they believed 
that some of the j^oung men had gone into it. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. Was not Crosby recognized as Sheriff until the 16th of 
December, when an injunction was sued out against him? 

A. I don't remember dates ; no injunction was ever served; 
on the morning of the 7tli of December an injunction was ob- 
tained, or he would have been enjoined from acting as Sheriff; 
the injunction was granted by Judge Hill, and but for this in- 
vasion would have been served; and I understood that Crosby, 
by the advice of Col. Packer had tried fo prevent these people 
from coming in ; thus admitting that they had been ordered 
in; that he was trying to get horses and a hack to go or send 
people out to tell them not to come in here. 

Q. Were not the colored officials compelled to resign by 
force of arms? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You stated in vour evidence that Governor Ames could 
have come here with safety; was not Col. Packer advised that 
it would not be well for him to insist on getting United States 
troops here? 

A. No. 

Q. Do you know who killed Furman ? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Do 3'ou know anything of the Sheriff making, by execu- 
tion, fifteen hundred dollars against one of Crosby's bonds- 
men ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did 3^ou say that Doctor Quinn shot anybody? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did 3'ou hear any firing or shooting while you were ab- 
sent from him? 

A. Not from the direction where he was. 

By th e Ch a: r m a n : 

Q. What is your politics? 

A. Prett}' white; with reference to this question I don't 
know how to answer; I am certainly not a Republican, and 
there seems to be but two parties, the Democratic and the Re- 
publican; I suppose I should be classed as a Democrat. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. From your intimate relation with Doctor Quinn, and con- 
versation had with him on that day, the 7th of December, and 
since then, and you having been with him on that day, do you 
believe that he killed any negroes ? 

A. No, sir. 



163 

B}^ Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. You were at the tax-payers' meeting on the 2d of Decem- 

bet? 

A. I was at the meeting of the tax-payers, not Tax Leaguers. 

Q It was a mass-meeting of tax-payers ? 

A. Yes; but the Tax League had nothing to do with it; I 
am President of that League. 

Q. Were you in favor of the majority report, or the minority 
report, brought in by the committee of five ? 

A. I was not there when that was done, 

Q. Do you endorse the action of that meeting ? 

A. I decline to answer that question; lam not prepared to 
shirk any responsibility, however. 

Q. Were you in favor of exhausting all legal remedies before 
demanding the resignation of those officers, or do you endorse 
the action of those citizens who acted on the minority report 
on that day ? 

A. I was not present at that meeting, and I don't see that 
my individual expression could be evidence; I was not at the 
meeting when the majority and minority reports were made, 
and I was not at the meeting when the committre of ten was 
appointed. 

The question repeated. 

A. I can answer this; I am in favor of exhausting all legal 
remedies under such circumstances and in such cases. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. You have been asked if you consider the colored people 
generally peaceably disposed towards the whites? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And your answer was, that when left to themselves they 

were ? 

A. Yes. 

Q." Do you not believe that the colored people who came 
here on the morning of the 7th of December were instigated 
by bad, designing and malicious persons? 

A. I do, sir. 

Q. And don't you believe that colored people generally are 
susceptible of being controlled by bad men ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And are so controlled very often ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

^Q. Don't you think that white people sometimes are con- 
trolled by a bad class of men? 

A. As a whole, no. 

Q. That they are as liable to be controlled by bad men as 
the colored people are ? 

A. No, sir. 



164 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. It is veiy hard to tell who did the shooting, or who did 
the killing of that man on that day, the 7th of December ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

DOCTOR ROBERT A. QUINN, 

Being dul3' sworn, sa3'S : \^Exami nation in Chief. ^ 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. State the movements and operations of that portion of 
the forces defending Vicksbiirg, on the 7th of December, 18 4, 
with which 3'ou were, and 3'^our own movements on that day? 

A. I was roused up at two o'clock in the morning, by a gen- 
tleman, who gave the alarm that the colored people from the 
country would come to town to reinstate Crosb}^; I then went 
to the drug-store, and found Col. Miller, Mr. Bedford, and 
several others, and the}^ told me what was about to occur ; 
I then went and roused several other friends, and went 
to the market-house and got a cup of coffee; it w^as then about 
three o'ch:)ck in the morning; I stayed up there probabl}' an 
hour; about that time the alarm was given, and the })eople 
commenced turnins: out. thinkinsf it was a fire; I met a ofreat 
many men, and told them the cause of the alarm; then I went 
to the office and laid down until half-past seven o'clock, about; 
I then went to breakfast about a quarter past eight o'clock; 
when I got half through my breakfast, the bells commenced 
ringing ; 1 then jumped up from the table, got on my hoise, and 
went down town; I went to the office to get my gun and pis- 
tols, and went from there to the Court house; there I met Doc- 
tor Sliannon, Capt. Cowan, and Doctor Whitehead, and rode 
out Cherry street, leisurel}', until we got to the bi'ow of the 
hill beyond Fred. Bourn's, a quarter of a mile inside of the 
city limits; as we got to the bottom of tliat hill we came up to 
a bridge; as our horses' feet struck the bridge, the negroes 
jumped out from behind a hollow and a house, and lired on us; 
Doctor. Whitehead got down from his horse, and said: "We 
must make a stand here;" some one suggested that we had 
better go up on the hill, so w^e got on the hill, and left the 
horses on the road, and went to the rigiit, into Finne^-'s lot; 
we went to the Q(\ge of the bank, whicii overlooks the place 
where these negroes were; they had liied on us from the bot- 
tom of the hill, and they commenced firirjg when they saw us 
above; we returned the lire; by that time the rest, the infan- 
try, came up from town, and the negroes dispersed and went to 
an old Confederate fortification; they were distributed there, 
and there seemed to be a line extending some distance; when 
the3' commenced dispersing, Doctor Booth, Judge Cowan, Mr. 
Faxton, and myself, charged down the road; the negroes kept 
on I'ctiring; just before we started on this charge, the fianking 
party of twelve men, under command of Finuev, went and at- 



165 

teirpted to get in their rear, but they were discovered; 
we rode about over to Wash. Green's quarters, four mih-s from 
town; I think, probably, we went three miles, and may be more 
than that, and saw some negroes in the distance; just about 
that time, Mr. Knadler and Doctor Booth, who had separated 
from where we were, when we got outside of town, came up 
with a prisoner; we then wheeled our horses, and returned to- 
town; returning to where we had started from; Doctor Booth 
and myself came to town, 1 leaving him on Cherry street, I 
having to go to a relative of mine, living a half a mile from 
here, within the city limits; I went and staid there a half an 
hour, and came back to the Court-house, and from the Court- 
house I went down town. 

Q. What time do j^ou suppose it was when you got back 
from Cherr}' street? 

A. It was a quarter to twelve when we got back to the Court- 
house. 

Q. Do you know a man named Banks, that was killed on that 
day ? 

A. No ; I do not know that I ever saw him. 

Q. You were not on the Jackson street road, on that day? 

A. I was at a drug store that ray brother owns, about two 
squares from here; no further out on the Jackson road, on 
that da}^; it is my custom to go to that store three or four 
times a day. 

Q. Did you, at any time, on that day, call on an}- one, or call 
any one out to hold your horse, and that while that was being 
done, shoot an}' person? 

A. I did not. 

B}' Mr. Cessor: 

.^Q. Was not Crosby recognized as Sheriff, until the injunc- 
tion was sued out against him? 

A. I don't know that there was an injunction sued out 
against him; I did not hear it; I understood, however, that an 
injunction was about being sued out against Crosby; but at 
that time he had resigned, and was no longer Sheriff. 

Q. Were you absent from Doctor Booth, while you were out 
on the Cherry street road? 

A. As I said in my statement, a while ago ; when we rode 
up, out in the country, Doctor Booth and Mr. Knadler went off 
to the left, after getting about a half a mile from town; Judge 
Cowan and myself were immediately together, going still fur- 
ther out, Doctor Shannon, also; we went all in sight of each 
other, the three, Doctor Shannon, Judge Cowan, and my^elf, 
being together, and 3[r. Knadler and Doctor Booth a little to 
the left ; we were all in sight. 

Q. Dul you see anybody shoot anybody on that day ? 

A. No, sir. 

O. Were the colored people generally armed? 

A. Those I saw. as well as I could tell, were armed, and it 



166 

would liave been an easy matter for mo to have seen if any one 
had no arms; eveiy one of those that jumped out from behind, 
a house had a gun. 

Q. Do you know who killed tliis man Furman? 

A. I was in a party going out Cherry street when that man 
was killed; I decline to answer. 
• Q. Did Furman have a gun? 

A. He had a pistol. 

Q. Was there any disposition on his part to fight? 

A. I saw him draw the pistol out; he had a long coat on, 
and whether he drew the pistol out of his pants' pocket or had 
it iu his hand I cannot tell; I saw the pistol in his hand, when 
he was 13'ing on the road. 

Q. You don't know of any house having been broken open 
and searched? 

A. No, sir; I do not. 

Q. Do you know of any party coming from Louisiana up 
here during the riot ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How many do you suppose came from Louisiana? 

A. I only know from what Capt. Cobb, from Monroe, Lou- 
isiaua, told me; he said that he came over with, I think he said, 
a hundred and twent3^-five men ; he told me the number; I 
won't be positive as to what it was. 

Q. They took i)art in the fight? « 

A. No; they did not arrive in time; they returned home; 
they got here at eleven o'clock at night and sta3^ed some place 
down town the balance of the night; whether the}?^ were out or 
not I cannot say; when I saw them while they were over hero 
was when I met Capt. Cobb ; they returned about two o'clock 
in the evening. 

Q. They got here on Monda}'' evening? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know whether thej' carried away any of the stock 
belonging to any colored people about here? 

A. No, sir; I do not. 

B}' Ml'. Cessor: 

Q. Do you remember how many horses and mules were cap- 
tured by the squad you and Dr. Booth were in? 

A. As we were returning to town vve saw along the road side 
six or seven horses and mules tied within twenty yards of each 
other; some one of the party suggested that we take those 
horses and mules to town ; I remarked that I did not think it 
was any use to disturb them, to let the men come and get them; 
I rode on with Dr. Bootli ; I don't know whether those horses 
and mules were brought to town or not; that was the last I 
saw of them; there were six or seven of them. 

Q. How man}- colored men did you cai)ture ? 

A. Only one; Doctor Booth and Mr. Knadler, who were two 
or three hundred yards to the left, captured him and brought 
him up to us. 



I 



167 

Q. Your practice does not extend in the country ? 

A. Yes; I have considerable practice in the countr}'. 

Q. You have not been molested or fired upon at night, when 
trav^^lino- in the country ? 

A. I have no trouble in ti'aveling. 

Q. The colored people have no disposition to molest you ? 

A. No; I have, on the contrary, all the confidence in the 
world in them; I have liad quite an extensive practice in the 
coiintrj^; but there are verj^ few south of the city that I know. 

By Mr. Sullivan : 

Q. Were any colored people killed on Cherry street on that 
day? 

A. None but this man Furman, 

Q. He was not killed in the tight ? 

A. He was within thirty yards of the advancing people from 
the country, whf^n he was killed. 

Q. There were no colored people killed out there in that fight 
on Cherrv street ? 

A. No." 

Q. And no white people ? 

A. None that I saw. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Was A. Yerger in the squad you were in at any time on 
that day ? 

A. I don't remember whether he was or not; there were a 
good many thei-e; there was Mr. Voelker, who came up with 
the infantr}' ; Major Flowery, Morris S. Smith, Harvey And- 
rews, George Dorsey, and others, but I don't remember their 
names. 



By the Chairman : 

0. Was this man Furman riding in a wagon when be was 
killed ? 

A. He was walking. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. In what direction was he going ? 

A. Out toward the country, from town; he was between us 
and the people coming from the country; he had on that morn- 
ing taken his gun and removed it from the house where it was, 
to another house on Cherr}^ street, and was talking to souie one 
— R3an, 1 believe; Ryan was advising him not to do anything; 
he said he had as good a gun as any one, and intended to 
use it. 

Q. You have heard that since ? 

A. Yes; I was within twenty 3'ards of him when he was 
killed; my l)ack was to him, and when he was shot, I turned 
my horse around. 



168 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. Did you see an\' other city colored men on that day with 
arms ? 

A. As Captain Cowan and I were coming up the street, I 
saw a man named Sherman, a painter, who came running u[) to 
us and said a colored man had taken his gun with him, and he 
pointed toward him; that colored man was en Clay street; we 
saw him darting along some houses; that is the only colored 
man I saw on that day with a gun. 

WARREN COWAN, 

Being duly sworn, says: [Examination in Chief.] 

By Mr. Street : 

Q. Make a statement of the troubles here on the 7th of De 
cemher, 1874? 

A. On one da}^ of the week previous to that da}-, the SlierifT 
was requested to resign; a meeting was called of the tax-pay- 
ers of the county at the Tax-Payers' Hall; I called the meet- 
ing to order in the absence of Captain Young, the President 
of the Ctjunty Executive Committee of the People's party, I 
being one of the Vice Presidents myself; as reports were made 
to the tax-payers at that meeting, that some books had been 
stolen from the office of the Assessor in the Court-honse be- 
longing to the Chancery Clerk's otfice, and as some warrants 
and papers, part of the records of the Board of Supervisors 
had been stolen, a committee of five was appointed, and I was 
added to the committee, to draw up an address and have 
printed circulars sent through the county, requesting the tax- 
payers to meet on the Wednesday following, here; a commit- 
tee was also appointed to see the Sherill and ask him to allow 
nobody to enter the Court house after that time of night, and 
to request the Mayor to send two policemen to watch the 
Court-house, to see who entered it, and to report the fact; 
these policemen were not to be allowed to come into the Court- 
house, but were to stand outside and watch to see who came 
in and out; at the next meeting, on Wednesday, of the tax- 
payers, we met at Apollo Hall; I was elected against my consent, 
as permanent chairman of the Tax Payers' Convention, and 
presided at the meeting; it was reported at that meeting by 
Doctor Shannon, who was on the committee to see the Sheriff, 
that the Sheriff had promised not to allow any one to enter at 
night, and that, If McGee. who was the Deputy Sheriff— they 
had said to the Slierilf — if McGee would go to a boarding- 
house, they would pa}^ his expenses, so as not to have any one 
in the Court house at night; that was the report; they re[)orted 
also (tliis committee) that the policemen reported to them 
that five men entered the Court-house on that niglit, although 
the SliCriff had promised not to allow any one to enter: there 
was then a motion made to appoint a committee to wait on the 



. 169 

ShcrilT, the members of the Board of Supervisors, the Chan- 
cery Clerk and the Coroner, and ask them to resign their 
offices — a committee of ten ; I appointed that committee; they 
went up to the Court-house and came back and reported that 
the Sheriff gave them no satisfaction about the matter, but 
that the other officials wanted a half an hour to consult their 
attorne3's; they did not see the Board of Supervisors at all; 
they saw the Coroner and the Chancery Clerk; a motion was 
then made by some one that we proceed to the Courthouse 
and turn the officials out and take possession of the Court- 
house, pending which another motion was made, that a com- 
miitee of five be appointed to retire, and to report whether all 
legal remedies had been exhausted or not; that committee re- 
tired, and when they returned, three of that committee re- 
ported that we might probablj^ get an injunction against the 
Sheriff to prevent him from collecting the taxes; the other 
two reported that while that might be possible, it was not 
at all practicable; that all legal remedies had been practically 
exhausted; I got up then and stated in a short speech that I 
objected to going to the Court-house and taking possession in 
the mnnner indicated by the motion that was made; that I 
was opposed to the convention doing any thing as a mob ; that 
if they wanted to do anything, if they would go to work in a 
deliberate form and decided manner, resolve to go to the Court- 
house in a bod}', and ask the Sheriff to resign, or demand his 
resignation, if need be, that I would come with them, and I 
did not believe that he would resist such an appeal; that mo- 
tion was then put and carried; there were no threats made 
against the Sheriff at the meeting in case he refused to resign; 
nor against the other officers; there were no threats of any 
character, and nothing was said about what should be done in 
case the Sheriff refused to resign; I then came up around 
Cherry and street, a number of gentlemen followed me, some 
twent\ or thirt}', not probably over twenty; on the way Mr. 
Owen McGarr asked me what we intended to do if tlie Sheriff 
refused to resign ; I told him that I did not know, we had not 
got that far along, or something to that effect; we then got up 
to the Court house; I went into the Sheriff's office; the door 
was open; we walked around through the Court-house; I went 
out again, and met Charley Riley, editor of the Vicksburg 
Times, who came up in great haste, and seemed to be alarmed 
and excited, and wanted to know what we intended to do; he 
came ii^om Washington street, with another crowd of twent}^ 
or thirty, I don't know how many exactly; I told him that we 
had come there to ask the Sheriff to resign; " Well," said he, 
" what are you going to do if he don't resign ? " I made the 
same reply to him, that I didn't know what would be done in 
that case. I walked around in the Court house, and looked at 
everybody; walked all through the front hall, and all around; 
a great many people asked me what we were going to do ; I 
replied that I did not know; Col. Furlong came in shortly 



170 

afterwards, and took Col. John D. Beaird and m3'seir out on 
the edge of tlie terrace, and took us to one side, and asked us 
if we knew that this was treason against the State; I told 
him, not that I was aware of; we both turned around and left 
him; he said we had better bo very careful about what we 
were doing; I told him tluit I understood perfectly well what I 
was doing; I went back again to the hall, and some one came 
to me and told me that there were sjme drunken men in the 
room with the Sheriff, and that they were talking loud and 
cutting up, or something to that etf'ect; I don't remember ex- 
actly' the word; I went up then to Major Paxton, one of the 
committee of ten originally appointed to ask the officials to 
resign, and told him I wanted him to go in and conduct the 
matter in a proper manner; that we did not want any drunken 
men in there, and did not propose to have any mob or violence, 
but that it should be done in a proper manner; we then went 
there, and the door was closed; I went around on the galler}^ 
and looked through the window; I saw Major Paxton talking 
to the Sheriff, and Martin Marshall standing by the safe; I 
heard Major Paxton say: "All we want is your resignation; we 
don't propose to molest you, or hurt 3'ou, or injwre 3'ou in any 
manner," or words to that effect ; I saw the resignation handed 
over, and then I heard the men in tlie room shout — there were 
several in the room; the Sheriff (Crosby) came out, walked 
around awhile, and went back in the office again; went into 
the office; I heard Major Paxton say: "Let him get his papers," 
or something of that kind — -'■' his private papers;" Crosby came 
out again, walked around a hile, and finally went off; none 
molested him; I saw no weapon of any description either used 
or exhibited; I saw nothing of the shape of a weapon except 
a pistol-scabbard — a leather scabbard — which 1 saw on one 
man when his coat flirted around to one side; I presume there 
was a pistol in it — I don't know; The tax-payers were all 
called by me out in front, after Col. Beaird was put in charge 
of llie office; I asked them to meet somewhere again — at Apol- 
lo Hall, I think, probabl}' that same night, or shortly after- 
wards — that night, I think; at the time w^hen we came up here 
to ask the Sheritf to resign, and at the time he did resign, the 
Circuit Court, which had been in session, had adjourned for 
the day, and the Judge had gone; none of the officers of Court 
were about the Court-room that I know of; there was no Court 
in session; Major Packer pnd Col. Lee came here after that; I 
think I saw them on Saturda}^ the 5th, in front of the Vicks* 
burg Bank; Major Paxton and I had a conversation with them, 
and we told them that we thought that the matter could be 
settled peaceabl}'', about the Sheriff's resignation, and so on ; 
Packer said he hoped it could; on Sunda}*, the next morning, I 
went down town, and was requested to get the |;)apers and facts 
upon which to prepare a bill for an injunction against the 
Sheriff; I got them, and Col. Miller wrote out tlie bill on Sun- 
day'; it was carried up to Judge Hill by Captain Pittman and 



171 

Major Paxton, I believe; ^hey came back at night, and we 
were talking- over these matters; Mr. H. P. Hunt came in, and 
said that Adjutant-General Packer wanted to know il" we had 
any pickets out, and, if so, he wanted permission to send some 
couriers out with instructions to the negroes not to come in 
town the following day; there was a good deal of talk about 
it; there were several gentlemen in the room; I finally 
told Hunt that we had no pickets out that I knew of; 
that if we had, CoL Packer could have permission to 
pass the lines, or any of his couriers; he could send the 
negroes word to stay out or to come in — it was immaterial 
to us; Col. Hunt said he would not deliver any such messao-e, 
or something of that kind, and went off; I don't know whatlie 
told CoL Packer; I went home and went to bed that night; I 
heard the bells ringing about four o'clock in the moruTng; I 
took it to be the fire bells, and I went to sleep again; I got up 
and came down town at the usual hour; just as I left my gate, I 
heard the Courtdiouse bell ringing in a violent manner; I got 
down the street, and around on Washington street, and was in- 
formed that the negroes were coming in on three roads; I 
then went looking for guns; I could not find anything that I 
thought worth anything, except a Remington pistol; the guns 
had all been taken from the stores where they were kept, the 
hard \^ are stores and dealers in guns and ammamition, and so 
on; I got this pistol at Schacler's; I told him, also, that I 
would be responsible for a shot-gun for an Irishman living on 
Washington street; he gave him the gun; I then got to the 
Court-house, and saw Mr. Lucid, and asked him if he had 
another horse; he told me he had one at Alexander's stable, 
and to go and get it; I went and got the horse; previous to 
that, however, I walked down Cherry street, and in front ot 
the Court-house, and all the negroes I saw I told them they 
had better go home and get off the streets, that they were in 
danger of being killed; I met a man out here, a painter, named 
Sherman, who told me that the negroes out on Clay street had 
taken his gun away from him; that when he heard the bells 
ringing he started to the Court house with his gun, and a negro 
Stopped him and took th^ gun away from him; I went down 
and got this horse, and came up here; Doctor Whitehead gave 
me a Winchester carbine; I then went down Cherry street, 
and out Belmont, over to the Warrenton road; I met my 
brother. Captain Covfan, and Mr. Rainwater, coming up the 
Warrenton road, from the direction of Warrenton; they told 
me that they had been down there some distance, and that no 
negroes were reported as coming in on that road; I rode, then, 
down Belmont, over to Cherry street, and we^t out to the Fin- 
ney place; opposite to that place, I saw lying in the edge of 
the road, a negro, who was formerly a policeman, whose name 
I believe was Furman; I knew the negro, but I did not know 
his name; I knew that he had been a policeman; at that time, 
on the ridge, about a thousand yards off, I suppose, we could 



172 

see neizroes running to and fro along the edge of the ridge; 
they were shooting across the hill at us; some of the bullets 
fellnear where we were; I saw Albert Lea shoot back with 
eitlier a Springfield rifle or a Springfield musket, and I saw his 
ball fall about half-way between us and where these negroes 
were; I told him that there ^vas no use in shooting that dis- 
tance ; he fired one or two more shots and stopped; Col. 
French came up about that time, aiid took command of the 
infantry, on the right; I have been informed that there was a 
llankiug i)arty going along toward the river, and coming up the 
ridge toward the road, from the direction of the river ; we were 
waiting for that flanking party before we charged; I was also 
told tiiat another flanking party had gone to our left, and 
would come up on their right; as soon as we got sight of the 
flanking party, on the ri.<2:lit, and saw them on the hill, we 
charged right up the hill, Col. French on the right and Captain 
Cowan on the left; the infantiy followed them, some on the 
right and some on the left of the road; Doctor Quinn and my- 
self vvere on horseback, and w^e charged right up the road, and 
got to the top of the hill; near theie we met Mr. Cashnian 
coming in from the country ; he said the negroes had stopped 
him, and had made him go backward and forward a half dozen 
times, and finally let him pass through; he said there were 
about between two and three hundred, and that we had better 
get reinforcements; John Gree;i came up, then, where we 
werf^; he was walking, and said he had nothing but a pistol, and 
he wanted a gun; I told him that I had but one gun, and had 
given my pistol to ^lurray; he said he would go back and get 
reinforcements ; while he was gone, I rode to the top — to the 
point of the hill — looking over into the road further on, and 
there I saw forty or fift}' negroes with guns; I asked Doctor 
Quinn to hold my horse, and 1 would shoot at them; he did so, 
and I tired; I think, at the first or second shot, one negro fell; 
the rest then scrambled about and picked 'dm up, and carried 
him olf; they all left; by the time I had fired the eleven or 
twelve loads that were in my gun, they had all dispersed; by 
that time, Doctor Quinn asked me if my horse wouldn't stand; 
he didn't seem disi)Osed to be holding a horse when fight- 
ing wf)s going on; I told him that I didn't know whether it 
would or not; I did not have' time to reply to him; I was 
shooting; about that time, Doctor Shannon, Charley Paxton, 
Mr. Knadler, and Mr. Sharver came up, and we followed, ran 
as fast as we could up the road, in the direction of Hall's ferr}^; 
some of the negroes went on the right of the road, and some 
on the left; we followed them on the left of the road; they 
ran down in a hollow, and did not stop untill they got to the 
cane brake; Mr. Knadler captured one of them; I saw no ne- 
groes killed on that road, except the one I found dead when I 
first went out of town— Furmnti ; I saw a horse killed at a cabin, 
there, a large road horse, with a side saddle on; I went further 
down the hill, toward the cane-brake, and going to the right, 



I 



173 

up the hill, I met Mr. Knadler coming back from the road, with 
his prisoner in tow, in front of him; he got down to where I 
was, and told me to call the bo3's up there, that there were 
about a hundred and fifty of them over on the h'll, and they 
had tried to take the prisoner away frcwB him ; I called the 
other five, and we went up on the hill again, and got into Hall's 
ferr3' road; however, I saw Tom Riley and a negro man, whose 
name I don't remember; Tom Eiley told me that this man had 
nothing to do with tiiis; I told him that that was all right; I 
then went out to the road, and this crowd of negroes that had 
tried to get at Mr. Knadler, were all at a house on the left of 
the road ; as soon as we rode up to t!ie road, they commenced 
going back toward the cane-brake; they were standing in front 
of the cane-brake in a little bush-way along the edge of the 
hill; I got down off my horse, and brought my gun down to 
fire on them, but by the time I got it down and was taking aim, 
there were no negroes in sight; I suppose they had gone in the 
cane-brake; I got on my horse again and came back to town; 
when I came back to town, I got up a squad of cavalry of eight 
or ten, and went back on the road; there I saw several negroes 
along the road, and heard some of our boys hollowing to them 
to put down their guns and go home; I saw one man going to 
his house, from down in the bushes; I passed by a woman's 
house — Minerva Johnson's — living on the road; she is married 
to a drayman ; she asked me not to let anybody shoot into her 
house ; I said I would not; Johnson w^as standing at the house 
at the time ; he said he had not been in the fight; I turned in, 
theii, and went to the right, in the direction of this cane-brake, 
where I had seen these negroes, and I went all through the 
countr}^ to the Warrenton road; I saw one old negro man at 
home, and I saw ten or fifteen run in the direction of the War- 
renton road; we went across to the Warrenton road, and when 
we got there, Mrs. JMoseb}', who lives there, told us that about 
thirty or forty negroes had gone in town, with arms; there 
were tour of us together then; the others had left; there were 
Captain Barnes, Mr. Beck, Mr. Knadler, and myself; I think 
that was all; there may have been another gentleman with us, a 
Jew; I am under the impression that there were only four of us; 
before we got in town, we met about twenty negroes on horse- 
back, with guns, generally double barrel shot guns; we rode 
up to them suddenly; I cocked my gun, and said, '• halt;" one 
ot them spoke up. and said, " there is Capt. Barnes — he can tell 
us all about it;" Capt. Barnes rode up ; he knew most of them; 
he told them to go home and stay there, and not be caught 
coming to Vicksburg with guns; they said that the}' did not 
know anything about it, that they had been told to come there, 
they did not know what for, but they supposed they had orders 
from the 2:overnment to cnme there; thev asked him what it 
was all about, anyhow; he told them that they were doing very 
w rong, and to go home; after he got through talking to them, 
he told them that if they ever came back to Vicksburg again 
In— 13 



174 

with guns, we would kill the last one of them; I came on and 
met six more; Alexander Stackliouse seemed to be Comman- 
der-in-chief of that squad, and he seemed to talk pretty rough 
about it; we had them put the guns down — point their guns 
down and turn their horses around, and we marched them into 
the town, and brought them opposite to the Court house, and 
they were all put in jail ; they said that Olive Green had 
turned them back on the Warrenton road; another compan}' 
of cavalry, of forty or fifty, was got up to go out in the country 
about Mount Albon, to see something about a report that the 
negroes were burning houses in the countr}'; Col. Miller put 
me and Captain Pegram in command, and gave me instructions 
not to allow any violence to be used by any of the company; 
he said, he wanted me to go along to prevent anything being 
done that was wrong; I went with them out to Mount Albon, 
b}^ way of the two-mile bridge; we went out Grove street, and, 
I think, on Grove street I saw one or two dead negroes; I saw 
one, I think, and I was told there was one I3 ing in a hole some- 
where near the road; I went to Doctor Newman's, and found 
that his house was not burnt, and I went to Mount Albon, near 
where Cassel lives; he came out with a lamp in his hand; from 
the school-house where he lives, we went to another house 
near there; some of the boys in the crowd talked about kill- 
ing Cassel, and told him he had been making incendiary 
speeches, and trying to get the negroes to come in town to 
burn houses; he was badly frightened, and I told the men that 
they had no right to hurt him, they knew nothing against him; 
I asked him who it was that had got up all this difficult}^? he 
told me not to say anything about it, but that it was Scott 
Williams who had an alias as William Scott ; I knew Scott 
Williams; I defended him on one or two occasions when he 
was charged with stealing; I left the compan}' then in charge 
of Capt. Pegram; they said they were going to Mr. Lenea's 
place; I met Mr. Charle}- there, and he and I and a little Ger* 
man bo3', who went out with me, came back through to the 
Jackson road, from Mount Albon, by another road, different 
from the one we went out on, a road that leads into the Jack- 
son road about three miles from here; about four hundred 
yards the other side of the Jackson road. I saw a dead negro 
lying in the road; I came in on the Jackson road, and about 
the vShirley house I saw three dead negroes lying in the road, 
or on the side of the road, and one dead mule; I came then 
into town, and the next morning I came up here to the Court- 
house; there were a number of negroes in jail, among them 
Owens; I saw a crowd at the Court house there that morning 
attempting to get in to get Crosby; I heard some of them call 
out: "Come on here, you Crosby men," and they walked up 
to the door of the Court-house, I suppose for the purpose of 
breaking the guard to get at Crosby; I went into the crowd 
and walked among them quietly, and told them that that would 
not do, that it must be stopped; Col. Miller was talking 



175 

earnestly, appealing to them; they did not seem to pa}- 
mueh attention to him, and he asked me to assist him 
to prevent this killing of Crosby, and I walked among the 
crowd and talked to several of them, and told them that it 
would not do; they soon dispersed; over at the jail, Ben Allen 
told me that Col. Packer and Crosby came together, in a hack, 
out of hit house, on Sunday night; tliat Crosb}' told him to 
go out and tell Andrew Owens tiiat when he came in'the next 
day, not to come into town until twelve o'clock, unless he 
Bent for him to do so, but to come and remain outsidfe, 
subject to his orders; I saw General Packer afterward, 
when he had gone to Jackson and returned, and I asked 
him if Allen's statement was true; he said that he went 
out with Crosby that night, and that Crosby's instructions 
from him was to send the negroes word not to come in at all; 
but that Ben. Allen talked to Crosby in his drawers and shirt, 
that he was shivering and ver}^ cold; that Crosb}^ leaned over 
the fence and talked to him, and that he (Packer) was standing 
about five feet off, and that he did not hear what Crosby said 
to Ben. Allen ; 1 asked Ben. Allen, yesterday, in the Court- 
house, if that statement was true of Gen. Packer's; he said that 
he was not responsible for Gen. Packer's hearing; he could 
have heard it if he had wanted; he did not have his ears, or 
something to that effect; Gen. Packer, .at the same time when 
I had that conversation with hira about Ben. Allen, said that 
he did not consider the crowd of negroes that came in here as 
the militia ; that they had no orders from him, and were not 
acting under his orders, and they were not the militia he spoke 
of in his dispatch to Gov. Ames, which was telegraphed, they 
said. Gov. Ames; there were several gentlemen present at that 
conversation, and Capt. Lee and Gen. Packer both positively 
denied that the}^ considered those negroes the militia, or that 
they had anj'thing to do with their coming here ; I will state 
that I was approached by a number of individuals, and conver- 
sation was had in my presence about hanging Crosb}' during 
the time he was a prisoner; and other negroes — Owens, Ben. 
Allen, Stackhou&e, and others — and that my invariable reply 
was that my proposition was, that whenever we should hang 
one negro, to hang three white men along with him ; I fre- 
quently replied: "If you will go and hang Judge Brown, 
Judge Hill, Martin Carey, and Jobcph Bourne, then I will go 
with you and hang Crosby, and not otherwise ;" I believe I 
usualh' coupled that statement with this: *'That I was not 
anxious to hang an3'bod3'^" I was present shortly after the city 
election at a meeting of the Tax-Pa3'ers' League; I was ap- 
pointed chairman of a committee, to come to the Court-house, 
and look after the Court-house matters generally'; I came up 
here with a number of gentlemen; Maj. Magruder and myself 
drew up a petition, and we asked the Board of Supervisors to 
require the Sheriff to give a good bond; they adjourned over 
until the next day and agreed to do it; at the same time, I 



176 

made a demand to liave two men appointed from the citizens, 
twt) experts, and two bv the Board of Supervisors, to examine 
all the books about the Court-house; then in going down the 
street, on the corner below Mr. Ben-er's stable, I saw Daven- 
port talking to some one, I don't know who; I heard liim say 
that the Board of Supervisors would examine his books, but 
he would die like a dog before anybody else should; I went on 
down the street and w-ent to dinner, and came back and saw 
Armstrong on the street, and he had a letter from Davenport, 
addressed to him and Armstrong, in which he stated that we 
were at perfect liberty to examine all his books; that he wanted 
nothing but what was right; we then put these experts to work 
at the books; I could not tell you what has been done or found 
out by them; Mr. Arthur, Mr. Shannon, Mr. Bundle and Mr. 
Bovven were the four gentlemen appointed to look after the 
matter; Mr. Arthur and Mr. Bowen, I think, were selected, 
probably by the committee appointed b}'^ the Board of Super- 
visors; I don't know that I can say that I know- anything else 
in connection with this matter; the second night alter the fight 
I got up at daylight and went to Snyder's Bluff; a company of 
cavalry had been there before; that was when the funeial pro- 
cession was said to have been fired into; we got out three 
miles and a half beyond the National cemetery, and there we 
met two negroes with guns, coming in; that was on Wednesday 
morning, after the fight; it was then about an hour after day- 
light; we asked them where they had, been first making them 
drop their guns, then pick them up again and hand them to 
us; we asked them where the}^ had been; they said tiiey bad 
been squirrel hunting over on the Lake; we told them that if 
they had really been squirrel hunting they could come and get 
their guns; one of them knew me, and said he was willing for 
me to take the gun, he knew me and knew that I was responsi- 
ble; one was a Sharp's rifle and the other a Springfield musket; 
the Quns are here in town now; Doctor Hicks w-as with me at 
the time; we went as far as Mrs. Blake's, and then came back; 
I don't know of an3thing else that I can sa}'. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. What time did you first get in company with Doctor 
Quinn? 

A. On that morning he was down on Cherry street; it was 
very near ten o'clock, I suppose, when 1 first saw him. 

Q. At what point did you see him? 

A. At the end of Cherry street, on the Hall's ferry road, 
near the city limits. 

Q. How long were you with Doctor Quinn, or near him on 
that day? 

A. We rode out Cherry street together; I suppose two and 
a half or three miles after those negroes, and came back to- 
gether; when we got back here, the fighting was all over. 

Q. What time did you get back? 



177 



A. I don't know; it was near twelve o'clock, I reckon. 

Q. And Doctor Quinn came back with you? 

A. Yes ; 1 don't know whether we came to the Court-house 
together or not; I know he came back in town with me. 

i}. Was the fight at the Femberton monument, or Jackson 
street, over when you came back with Doctor Quinn? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What time did that fight occur, to the best of your in- 
formation? 

A. Between ten and eleven o'clock. 

Q. And at that time you were with Doctor Quinn, as I un- 
derstand, on Cherry street ? 

A. On the Hall's ferry road. 

Q. How far is it from the point where the fig^ht occurred on 
the Jackson road to where 3'ou and Docter Qainn were on the 
Hall's ferry road ? 

A. On a straight line, or b}'- the road? 

Q. By the traveled road. 

A. Four miles at least, from where we were from ten to 
eleven o'clock; I am not positive as to the time; I know when 
we got back to the Court-house the fighting was over; I think 
when I got to the Court-house I heard Richardson hollow that 
they were going back. 

Q. Do you think from your knowledge of his whereabouts 
on that day, that it would have been possible for Doctor Quinn 
to have been where the fight was on the Jackson road at the 
time that fight occurred? 

A. No, sir; it was not possible; I know that I just got here 
when they were bringing in some prisoners from the Jackson 
road; one of them was an old servant of my father and moth- 
er; he asked me to let him out of jail; I did so, and somebody 
put him back again; that was after the fighting was over, when 
I saw these prisoners brought in, and that happened just as I 
got back from the Cherry street road ; it was absolutely im- 
possible for Dr. Quinn to have been on the Jackson road where 
the fighting was during the fight. 

Q. Were you in town on the Saturdav previous to the fight ? 

A. Yes; all day. 

Q. You were about the streets generally and in 3'our office ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. I will call your attention to the proclamation of Governor 
Ames, issued on the 5th of December, 1874; is the first 
"whereas" of that proclamation true or false ? 

A. It is false; I was all around the citv, and saw no armed 
men on that day. 

Q. Is the second "whereas" of that proclamation true or 
false ? 

A. If it is true, I know nothing about it; in my opinion it 
is false. 

Q. Is the third "whereas" true or false? 

A. That is false; the Court was not in session at the time 



178 

we came up here to ask the Sheriff to resign; it had adjourned 
about twelve o'clock; I was informed that there was no Court 
in session, when we got up here; furthermore, there was a 
meet ng of the bar after that, and it was agreed that we should 
ask Judge Brown to go on with the Court on INlonday, and 
appoint a Sheriff' j^ro tern., so that we could go on with the 
business of the Court; and the business of the Court would 
have gone on but for this crowd of negroes coming in from 
the country. 

Q. Is the fourth "whereas" of that proclamation true or 
false ? 

A. That is not true; that is false. 

Q. You are acquainted with the citizens, generally, in Vicks- 
burg ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. With those who were on the taxpayer's side ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Is it your opinion that if Governor Ames, in his official 
capacity, as Governor, had come to Vicksburg, and had called 
a meeting of citizens, colored and white, and had snid to the 
tax-jjnyers, in the first place, that he, as Governor of the State, 
would see that the laws were faithfully executed, and told them 
if they presented their complaints to him, and if the}' were 
just, Crosby should be made to give a sufficient bond, and if 
these defalcations, as alleged against the other officers, were 
true, they should be proceeded against, and they should have 
a fair and impartial trial, is it your opinion that that would 
have prevented the disturbances ? 

A. Yes, sir, it is. 

Q. Could he have come here with safety ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were not Adjutant General Packer and Col. Lee, one of 
the Governor's staff', in the cit}^ on the fifth of December? 

A. Yes; they were all over the streets: I met them in front 
of the Vicksburg bank; we commenced talking to them, and 
while we were talking, about forty or fifty white men gathered 
around, and they stood there until we finished the conversa- 
tion; I said forty or fifty, I might be mistaken; perhaps I 
should say twenty or thirty. 

Q. Do you know, from positive information or reliable au- 
thority, that there was a dispatch received here from Governor 
Ames b}' P. C. Hall, Captain of a militia company? 

A. Only from information; I have heard the charge made in 
the presence of Capt. Packer, and he did not deny it. 

Q. Was P. C. Hall ranking militia officer in the county? 

A. No. 

Q. What is P. C. Hall's complexion? 

A. His complexion is black — politically^ and every other 
way. 

Q» He is a Republican, also? 

A. Yes. 



179 

Q. There were other militia officers here, that ranked him? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were these ranking militia officers dissenters from the 
demonstration made by the colored people ? 
, A. Clearly, I think so. 

Q. And P. C. Hall, you understood, to be in full sympathy 
with that demonstration? 

A. Yes, sir, 

Q. Was it a matter of surprise that P. C. Plall, alone, should 
have received such instructions? 

A. I don't know that it w^as, particularly. 

Q. What did tlie people think of it, here? 

A. That it was very unusual and un-military, and that there 
could be no good reason for it, and that it must have been 
done for political purposes. 

Q. Did you have any talk with Crosby, while he was in jail, 
in company with Packer? 

A. No. 

Q. Or in presence of Andrew Owens? 

A. No, sir; 1 had heard Crosby and Andrew Owens talk 
together in the morning; Owens was brought in, when he 
came in under a flag of truce; he came in, and said, " Crosb}^ 
I came in to get your orders; you told me to come in and bring 
these men in; I understood you to say you wanted them to 
come here, and now you say you don't want them;" Crosby said, 
"no; I want them to disperse." 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. You intimated that order reigned supreme in Vicksburg, 
on Saturday, the fifth of December; could Crosby have at- 
tempted to perform his duties, as Sheriff, with safety to himself? 

A. No, sir; I don't know what would have been done with 
Crosb^', if he had refused to resign. 

Q. Was not the Court house in the hands of parties desig- 
nated by the mob that demanded the resignation of Crosby ? 

A. There was no mob that demanded his resignation. 

Q. The crowd then, or the committee, or the people ? 

A. Yes, sir; the Court-house was in the hands of Mr. Beaird, 
and some gentlemen that he had selected to watch it, to keep 
any one from taking the records away. 

Q. The Court-house was in the hands of those people on 
that day, the 5th of December ? 

A. Yes; Mv. Beaird was designated by the people; the 
motion was made, that he take charge of the Court-house, and 
it was carried unanimousl}^ and he took charge of the Court- 
house, and held charge of it; he afterward held charge of it 
under an order of the committee of the Board of Supervisors. 

Q. Then, at the time Governor Ames issued that proclama- 
tion, the Court house was in the hands of the parties desig- 
nated by the people, who demanded the resis^nation of the 
Sherifi ? 



180 

A. Yes; I will state this: That on Thursday mornino", the 
da}' after, I came up herewith Mnjor Paxton; Judge Brown 
and Judge Lea came up stairs; Major Paxton and m3'selt' fol- 
lowed them; Major Paxton asked Judge Brown if he ai)d a 
committee of tax-payers could have a conversation with him ; 
Judge Blown said that he would go on the bench in a few 
minutes, and ^' ould hear what the}' had to say; Major Paxton 
told him that the}' did not propose to have any conversation 
with him while he was on the b(nch, because when he was off 
the bench they were his equal, but on the bench he was their 
superior, and they would like to have a conversation with him 
before he went on the bench; Judge Lea said: "Judge Brown 
will have to open Court, it is his duty to open Court;" I told 
him it was not, t'lat it was the duty of the Sheriff to open 
Court; he then said, it was the duty of the Judge to order the 
Sheriff" to open Court; I told him that he had alread}' 
done that on the evening before; Judge Brown seemed 
to be excited and pale and frightened; Judge Lea, however, 
was cool; Judge Brown said he would have a conversation 
with Major Paxton. but not in the Court-rcom; Major Paxton 
and tlie Judge then went in this room here, and had a conver- 
sation; Judge Brown then went on the bench and ordered 
Court to be adjourned until Monday morning; that was the 
next Monda}', when the negroes came in to make the attack. 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. State to the Committee who the ranking militia officers 
are in this county, that rank Capt. P. C. Hall ? 

A. Brigadier General Furlong, Col. French, Col. J. D. 
Beaird, and, I think, ihere are some Captains who rank Hall, 
but those three were his ranking officers. 

Q. Were these three 3'ou mentioned present and participating 
in the meeting of the tax-payers that appointed the committee 
to demand the resignation of Crosb}' ? 

A. Col. Beaird was there; I don't know whether Furlong 
and French were there or not. 

Q. But they were understood to be in sympathy with the 
tax-pavers ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Their being in sympathy with the tax-payers who de- 
manded the resignation of Crosby, would not that be sufficient 
reason why Governor Ames did not call upon them to disperse 
that mob, or gathering ? 

A. I don't know that they were in the meetinj^ at all; and I 
don't know that that would be sufficient reason for Governor 
Ames to refuse to issue his orders to them; because, however 
much they would have sympathised with the people, they 
would have been required to perform their duty as militia, and 
their sympathies would have had nothing to do with it. 

Q. Do yoii consider the action of those people, in coming to 



181 

the Cvourt-liouse and demanding the resignation of the Sheriff, 
as a Lawful action ? 

A. Furlong and French neither of them came to that meet- 
ing; Furlong came afterward to the Court-house, and before 
the resignation was tendered or accepted or concluded, took 
Beaird and mvself out to one side, and aslied us whether we 
did not know that this was treason against the State; I 
answered him that I was not aware that I was doing anything 
that was treason. 

• Q. I see that Col. John D. Beaird was one of the committee 
appointed to request this resignation ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Is he a large tax-pa^'er in this county ? 

A. I don t know; he is a very large man. 

Q. You don't know whether he paid an}- taxes ? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. What is your opinion as to the amount of tax he pays ? 

A. I have none; I don't know any large amount of property 
that he owns ? 

Q. Do 3'ou know of any property that he pays taxes on at 
all? 

A. No. 

Q. I see, Mr. Pegram was on that committee — is he a tax- 
payer ? 

A. Y^es; I think so; he has property here — a house on East 
avenue. 

Q. What is Pegram' s occupation ? 

A. Superintending some plantation. 

Q. I mean J. B. Pegram V 

A. I don't know what his occupation is, and I don't know 
whether he has any property at all, or not; he is a carpenter 
by trade; I know that, because I employed him once to do 
some work for me on Washington street. 

Q. You don't know whether he has any property or not ? 

A. No; I do not know of any. 

Q. Do you know of any troops or men from Louisiana com- 
ing over here ? 

A. I saw some men from Louisiana on Tuesday morning, the 
8th of December; I think I was introduced to the Captain. 

Q. Do you know anything of the number of men thus com- 
ing over ? 

A. 1 do not; I saw them here at the Court-house on Tues- 
day morning, after the fight had occurred; I don't know how 
many tliere were. 

By the Chairman: 

Q. What charges, if any, ha\'e been made against Louis 
Wilson? 

A. I don't know that he has been indicted. 

Q. I mean othcially ? 

A. I don't know. 



182 

Q. Yon know of no charges against his official condnct ? 

A. I have not heard of any. 

Q. About what number of men composed the Tax-Pa3'eiV 
Convention on the 2d of December, which demanded the resig- 
nation of these officials ? 

A. We were in session from twelve to four o'clock; there 
ma3^ have been probably three hundred at one time, or may be 
three hundrc^d and fifty. 

Q. From your best information, what is the total registered 
vote of Warren county ? 

A. About six thousand. 

Q. Where were Crosby and Davenport and Louis Wilson on 
the 5th of December, 1874? 

A. The}' were not in town ; I don't know where they were. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. What is the aggregate amount of taxable property iu 
Warren count}'? 

A. I think it is between seven and eight millions. 

Q. Al)out what proportion of the taxes do the white men 
pay, and what proportion do the colored men pa}' ? 

4- I suppose the white people pay ninety-nine- hundredths, 
probably, of all the taxes. 

Q. Would the largest amount of the taxes for the year have 
passed through tiie hands of the Sheritf, Crosby, within the 
next thirtv days, if he had not resigned ? 

A. Yes." 

Q. He would have had the disbursement of all the taxes, 
countv and Staie ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Wha!: did the people think of the sufflciency of Crosby's 
bond ? 

A. They were satisfied that it was entirely worthless; we 
knew all the sureties on the bond, in this county, •we had ex- 
amined their status, and were satisfied that they were worth- 
less. 

Q. Was the tax-payers' meeting participated in by Republi- 
cans ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And ex- Union soldiers ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Was the fight on Monday, the 7th, participated in by Re- 
publicans and Democrats ?, 

A. Yes. 

Q. And ex-Union soldiers ? 

A. Yes; I think I saw pretty nearly all of the people around 
the Times office with sfuns iu their hands Adler was a Federal 
soldier. 



183 

MICHAEL MURPHY, 

Being duly sworn, sa3's: '[Examination in chief. ^ 

By Mr. Street: 
*Q. How far do you live from this place, the Court house? 

A. Close on to a mile ; I think they call it a mile from the 
jail. 

Q. On what road do you live ? 

A. On the Grove street, or Baldwin's ferry road. 

Q. What is your occupation ? 

A. At })resent I am keeping a little family grocer3\ 

Q. Were 3^ou at home on the 7th of December ? 

A. Yes, sir; I was at home. 

Q. Did you see any body of armed negroes coming into the 
city on that day ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How many, about ? 

A. About three hundred. 

Q. Were they all armed ? 

A. Y'.\s; except some followers, that I could see scattered 
around. 

Q. Were they marching in column, or how ? 

A. Yes, sir; in militar}' order. 

Q. Who was in command? 

A. This man Owens — Andy Ovvens. 

Q. Is he a military officer by authority of the State govern- 
ment ? 

A. Not that I know of; I think not. 

Q. He is merely a private citizen ? 

A. Yes; as I am myself. 

Q. Is he a white or a colored man? 

A. He is a colored man — yellow. 

Q. What time in the morning did those men arrive at your 
house ? 

A. About nine o'clock, sir, 

Q Did you know any of those negroes ? 

A. Yes, some; I know the plantations they live on, gener- 
ally; I could tell, generally, when one of them passed my 
house: " He belongs to such and such a place;" those that I 
know generally live within seven or eight miles of me. 

Q. What did they do when they came to your house that 
morning? 

A. Owens first came to my house; he has been in tiie habit 
of corain<2r in there before; I knew nothins: in the world of 
what had gone on; he had alwa3's been very friendly toward 
me; he got some tobacco in the store, and he commenced tell- 
ing me about what was going on; I did not pay much atten- 
tion; in fact, I did not believe what he was telling me; he told 
me tliat his men were coming in on the Baldwin's ferry road; 
that Carter, or some other commander, was coming in on the 



184 

Cherry street road, or Hall's ferry road ; and such a man was 
coming in on the Jackson road. 

Q. Do you remember the name of that man? 

A No; and he says: " Mr. Murphy, I have known you a 
good while; I have always found you to be a gentleman; of 
course, you are going to fight witli the white people, and, be- 
tween now and night, I expect to see you in front of me ;" I 
told him " No;" in fact, I did not place any r(4i*nce on what he 
said ; I had got a new supply of ammunition the day before 
this, and after he left me, it struck me, that if it was really so, 
as he said, I had better hide the keg of powder; I did so, and 
also, as I thought, all the shot I had; but there was one flask 
or piekle jar that I forgot, and it remained; soon after that 
my little one came in and said : " Look, here is the whole world 
coming;" I looked out of the door, and I thought sure enough 
that the wliole world was coming; Owens halte»l his column as 
soon as he came there; he then asked me not to let one of 
those men have one drop of liquor; after that he let eight or 
ten of them in my grocery, ami he made it his business to see 
that the}' paid me for everything they got; I opened the back 
gate to let them get water; they seemed to have been traveling 
a good ways, by the wa}' the^^ drank water; he then com- 
menced making them a s[)eech, and telling them that they were 
now going into the city of Vicksburg, to reinstate Ci'osb}', 
now put out of oillce, and who never should have been put 
out, and that they were going to put him back, and he was 
going to walk knee deep in blood, if necessary, to reinstate 
Crosby before four o'clock, and any one who did not have the 
nerve to stand that should fall back in the rear; they all then 
took oft' their hats and hurrahed tor Owens; then thcv started 
from ray house, and I closed my door; I thought the\' were 
coming unawares into town; after Owens' men went away, when 
they had gone some two or three squares, I got up on a little 
hill, to see how far they had got; the bells, then, were ringing 
intcnvn; somebody asked me: "Mr. Murph}^ what are those 
bells ringing for?" I said, " there must be a fire in town," I 
not knowing what it meimt; when they left me, and I had come 
a little this side of rny house, 1 looked, and I could see noth- 
ing at all of Owens' men; but a little rise of the hill, by 
Dennis Teen's, who keeps a little grocery there — I saw a line 
formed ; I said, " they must have got along fast, there is a line 
there; he answered me, "those are not colored men — they are 
white men;" then the next I saw of the colored men, they 
were retreating back; most of these colored men know me; 
I thought some of them might be asking me for things out of 
the store, and that the best thing for me to do was to stav in- 
side; so I staid, as much as I could, inside of the house; but 
I was anxious to see what was going on outside, so I kept 
going in and out; at one time, coming out of tlie back door, 
I saw a good many colored men coming, between a walk 
and a trot, and among them, Andrew Owens ; I dropped back 



185 

in the house again, but I didn't stay long in the house, and the 
tirst thing I saw rising over the hill was a great body of white 
men; I walked in again, and just kept the door a little open ; 
I saw a great many men on tiie road, running, wltli their guns 
up a little piece; then I saw Col. Horace Miller hold up his two 
hands, and say, " don't shoot, boys, don't shoot; whenever it is 
necessary to shoot I will tell you;" he WM)uld not allow them 
to shoot"; I saw him prevent two or three from shooting; by 
this time they had all passed my house, and I went in the 
house again; as soon as I got in, the shooting commenced, and 
I sat inside until it ceased, when I went out again; I did no 
see any black or white men shoot 

Q. You don't know who began the firing? 

A. No. 

Q. How far were the two bodies of men apart? 

A. Just nice shooting distance. 

Q. That is about all you know of the fight? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know of any of the killing? 

A. After this fuss was over, I came out to the hollow, where 
the fight was; I had heard the two volleys, one a little distance 
off, and the other closer ; I found three men there; I turned 
one of them over on his back; he was not quite dead ; he was 
shot right by the waistband of his pants. 

Q Did you see more than one bullet-hole ? 

A. I saw only one bullet-hole in him, but that was big 
enough. 

Q. Did you examine the other two men ? 

A. No; there were three altogether. 

Q. You don't know how many times each one was shot? 

A. There was one seemed as though the whole side of his 
face was shot off; I thought it was done with buckshot. 

Q. You did not see any indications of any of them having 
been shot more than once ? 

A. No, sir. 

DOCTOR II. SHANNON, 

Being duly sworn, says: ^Examination in Chief.'] 

Bv Mr. Street: 
'^Q. Were you in Vicksburg on the 7th of December, 1874 ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were you in company with Doctor Quinn on that day ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. About what time did you get together ? 

A. Soon after the Court-house bell first tapped; that was 
about a few minutes after eight o'clock, or say half-past eight. 

Q. Did you and he go out of the city together? 

A. Yes; on the Cherry street road, or Hall's ferry road. 

Q. How far did you go ? 



186 

A. I think about four miles — between three and four miles. 

Q. About how long did you remnin out there ? 

A. We returned to the city at twelve o'clock; returned to- 
gether, both Doctor Booth and Doctor Quinn. 

Q. Between eight or half past eight o'clock, and twelve 
o'clock of that same da}', were you out near the Femberton 
monument, on the Jackson road? 

A. No; Doctor Quinn was not there, and could not have 
been there. 

Q. Do you know about what time the fight occurred on the 
Jackson road ? 

A. When we returned on Cherry street the fight on Jackson 
street was over. 

Q. Then, while that fight was going on, on the Jackson road, 
Doctor Quinn could not have been there? 

A. No; he could not; I got to the Court-house at a quarter 
to twelve o'clock; that is impressed on my mind from this 
fact: I had a telegram that was to be answered by twelve 
o'clock, and Doctor Quinn rode up to me, and looked at the 
clock, and said to me: "You have but fifteen minutes to 
answer that telegram;" he was here for sometime alter that, 
and I saw him down town after that ; I know that he did not 
go out on the Jackson road at all. 

By Mr. Little: 

Q. You are a member of the Tax Payers' League ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And you were also a member of the committee of ten ap- 
pointed to call on and request the resignation of the officials? 

A. Yes. sir. 

Q. What was the reason that induced or caused the Tax- 
Payers' Convention to demand the resignation of Mr. Wilson? 

A. We believed that Mr. Wilson had been issuing fraudulent 
Coroner's warrants; that was stated and believed to be true, 
and. I believe, Wilson admitted the truth of that, but passed 
it off upon a deputy of his. 

Q. You were in attendance on the meeting of the tax-payers 
on the 2d of December ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were there any charges made in that convention against 
the official character of Sheriff" Crosby? 

A. Yes; It was a notorious fact that Crosby's bond ^vas not 
sufficient. 

Q. But were an}- charges made against his official character 
for mo I feasance in office? 

A. Yes; sometime last year we had a number of men who 
had signed Peter Crosby's original bond arrested for perjury; 
the artidavits were made by E. D. Richardson, J. V. Baum, 
Doctor Hurd and several others, against the bondsmen of 
Peter Crosby for perjury, they having sworn they were worth 
a certain amount of property and free-hold, over and above 



187 

their legal liabllilles, just debts and legal exemptions, when 
the fact was notorious that they were not worth that amoun'.; 
E. D. Richardson stated that he had executions against some 
of the parties for small amounts, and that he could not make 
it out of them; still they swore that they were worth the 
amounts stated in the bond; they were arraigned before a Jus- 
tice of the PeacCy waved examination, and were bound in a 
bond to appear before the Grand Jury; Peter Crosby, instead 
of putting them in jail, took straw bonds, and turned them 
loose, letting, sometimes, one man, who was charged with per- 
jury, sign the appearance bond for another, and letting these 
two again sign for another, charged wit:h perjury; then the 
Grand Jur^^ before whom these cases were to come, were se- 
lected by the Board of Supervisors, who, we believe, were in 
collusion with Crosby, who had formed a ring to i^revent the 
conviction of the men charged with malfeasance in office ; and 
the Grand Jury failed, or refused to indict them. 

Q. Did they' have sufficient testimony to indict them ? 
A. They did not want the testimony; they refused to receive 
it, as I have learned from Richardson; the witnesses were not 
summoned; he had made the affidavit required in such cases, 
and Judge Brown discharged the Grand Jur}', because they 
would not find an indictment where the evidence was plain; W. 
A. Fairchild has in his possession the evidence which was 
given, and taken down by him, before the Grand Jury, as to 
the guilt of certain parties, and the Grand Jury failed to 
indict them; that evidence could be produced, and, as I learn, 
would compel any body of honest men to indict the parties. 

Q. Was that evidence, shown in the Tax-Payers' League 
meeting? 

A. No ; but we knew the evidence before. 
Q, iSlr. Fairchild, you say, has that evidence? 
A. Yes; he informed me that he took it down; the minority 
of the Grand Jury then applied to Judge Brown, asking to be 
discharged, because they believed that the majority was cor- 
rupt, and would not indict, where the evidence was plain. 

Q. Did those bondsmen charged with perjury appear at the 
term of Court to answer? 

A. They were living, some of them, here in the county. 
Q. Have none of them presented themselves to answer to 
the charge? 

A. No; it was for reasons of that kind that the convention 
was forced upon the people's mind; that Peter Crosby would 
not summon a jury that would convict anybody that he did 
not want to be convicted; or, in other words, that he would 
pack the Grand Jury. 

Q. Who selected the Grand Jury? 

A. It was selected by the Board of Supervisors, who were 
themselves in the ring, and believed to be thieves and plunder- 
ers; in relation to the Board of Supervisors, I will say, that a 
funding bill was passed, taking up all outstanding warrants up 



188 

to April, 1873, and the Board of Supervisors were prohibited 
from issuing over eighty live per cent, of the tax levy; those 
are my impressions of the bill; now, that would look as though 
there should be fifteen per cent, of the tax remaining in cash, 
after the issuance of that eight}' live per cent. 

Q. Would not tiiat fifteen per cent, be covered b}' the delin- 
quent tax list? 

A. No; after the taxes were collected, the Tax-Lengue as- 
certained that there was from fifteen to twenty thousand dol- 
lars in county warrants outstanding, after the passage of the 
funding bill, not taken up by the taxes; now, it has been a 
quesli<ni that I have woi"ked hard to solve, where those war- 
rants came from; we have ascertained that Davenport has 
issued some fraud ulentlv, and I have heard that the Board of 
Supei visors, or the bhick members of the Board, met at an 
earlier hour than that to which they adjourned, and passed a 
resolution to have the warrants burnt, and had them burnt, as 
they pretended, before Mr. Axelson, the white member of the 
Board, came to the meeting; but that instead of burning those 
warrants, tiiey aivided them; that is the belief; Mr. Axelson, 
perhaps can testify as to that. 

Q. What was the intention of the Tax-Pcayers' League, or of 
the committee of ten, who called on Peter Crosby to resign — 
what was their motive ? 

A. The motive that prompted the tax-payers was this: They 
believed that Peter Crosby was utterlj' corrupt, and his bond 
utterly worthless, and that the Board of Supervisors were in 
league with him, and tiic}- knew that they could not get the 
Board of Supervisors to do their duty, and the}' saw no other 
way o^ getting rid of him. 

Q. [n case he had refused, what would have been done ? 

A. You know as much about that as I do ; that contingency 
WHS not discussed at all; everybody said that if the ijeojMe 
went to the Court-house and asked him to resign, he would not 
refuse. 

Q. How man}' people were there in the Tax Payers' Con- 
vention ? 

A. Two or three hundred. 

Q. How maiy registered voters are there in the county ? 

A. I don't know; that meeting of the tax-payers was pro- 
tracted to late in the evening, and a great many of the people 
from the country left, and went home before we came to the 
Court-house. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. Knowing the people here pretty well, do you believe that 
the conviction was general in the minds of the white people 
here, who pay the taxes, that the public funds would not be 
approi)riated to legitimate purposes? 

A. They felt very certain of that. 



189 

Q. You were here on the Saturday before the fight— Satur- 
day, the 5th ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Were you about generally on the streets on that day ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. I wish to call your attention to the proclamation of Gov- 
ernor Ames, of the 5th of December, 1874; is the first 
"whereas" of that proclamation true or false? 

A. It is false. 

Q. The second "whereas"— is that true or false? 

A. That is false; no threats were made, either by force or 
arms. 

Q. The third " whereas " — is that true or false ? 

A. That is false; Judge Brown, after four o'clock, had ad- 
journed Court; there was nothing riotous in the conduct of 
people here; he could have appointed a Sheriff ^^ro tern, the 
next day. 

Q. Do you believe that the Court was competent, with this 
combination of officials, to have punished any of those dis- 
honest officials, if the Court had been so disposed ? 

A. No, sir; Judge Brown so stated to me last summer, in 
relation to this very question about the Grand Jury; he stated 
— the conversation arose from the fact that Judge Brown, in 
his charge to the Grand Jur^-, had stated, that whenever the 
laws failed to protect the people, that they, the people, had a 
right to rise and protect themselves, or words to that effect; I 
had the conversation with Judge Brown subsequent to that, 
in relation to the juries, and he stated tome distinctly and em- 
phaticall}^ that if he should order Crosby to go in the county 
of Warren and summon a jury of the best and most intelligent 
men in the county, and if he was to bring to him a jury com- 
posed of the dirtiest, greasiest and most brutal negroes in the 
county, that, under the law, he was forced to accept them, if 
the Sheriff should say to him: These are the best men in War- 
ren county, he would be forced to accept them . 

Q. Is the fourth "whereas" of that proclamation of Gover- 
nor Ames, of the 5th of December, true or false ? 

A. It is false, 

Q. Is the fifth "whereas" true or false ? 

A. That is false; and I will add, that Gus Newton, the 
County Treasurer, is a colored man, and we believe an honest 
man, but an incompetent man, and he was not asked to resign, 
and nobody has said anything against him; he is incompetent, 
from the fact that he has allowed these rings to steal his books 
and papers. 

Q. Do you believe that Governor Ames would have been 
safe in his person, if he had come to Vicksburg on Saturday, 
the 5th of December? 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you know what time this proclamation of the Gover- 
nor's came in ? 
In— 14 



190 

A. On Saturday, before dinner — in the morning. 

Q. On the day of its issuance ? 

A. Yes; after ten o'clock; in addition to that I would say, 
that if Governor Ames had come in on that da}', and 
looked into the condition of things here, every good citizen of 
Vicksburg and of Warren county would have aided and 
seconded iiim in any move to correct the evils under which we 
were laboring. 

Q. Do you believe that if Governor Ames had come here in 
his oflicial capacit}^ as Governor of the State, and bad called a 
meeting of the citizens, white and black, and had said to the 
tax ]niyers in the first place: "As Governor of the State, it is 
my duty to see thut the laws are faithfully executed; you seem 
to have cause of complaint; I propose to have the case inves- 
tigated, and if the Sheriff has not made a good bond, he must 
be requiied to give one, and the forgers and bad officials must 
be punished according to law;" do 3'ou believe that these 
troubles would have occurred ? 

A. No. 

Q Was not Col. Packer, the Adjutant General, and Col. Lee, 
of Governor Ames' staff", in the cit\^ of Vicksburg on Satur- 
day, the 5th of December? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did they seem to be intimidated ? 

A. No. 

Q. You saw them both here? 

A. I saw them both. 

Q. Do you know anything about Captain P. C. Hall, of the 
militia ? 

A. I know him; I want to state this: That on the Friday 
following after the second of December, Peter Ciosby went to 
enter the Sheriff's oflSce, in the Court-house, then being in charge 
of Colonel Beaird, and Mr. Richardson sounded the alai'm-bell; 
we came up to see what was the matter; Colonel Beaird and 
myself then went to Crosby's carriage, with him, and stated to 
him that we hoped he would not enter the Sheriff''s office here, 
that it might cause excitement and trouble whicii we could not 
control, that we advised him not to go about the 8heriff''s 
office, unless he could give a good bond; if he could give a 
good bond, that then no citizen of the county could urge any 
objection wh}' he should not hold possession of the Sheriff's 
office . 

Q. Who is Captain P. C. Hall ? 

A. A n-'gro militia officer, I believe. 

Q. With the rank oS Captain? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Is he the ranking militia officer here ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you know anything of the dispatch received by Hall, 
from the Governor? 



191 

A. I understood that he did get such a dispatch, directing 
Hall to hold himself in readiness to reinstate Peter Crosby. 

Q. Who are the other militia officers here, who rank F. C. 
Hall? 

A. Mr. French is Colonel of militia; Beaird is Colonel; Peter 
Crosby, I think, holds a commission as Colonel, and Furlong, 
I think, has a commission as Brigadier General; these are all 
white men, except Peter Crosby. 

Q. You never heard of any dispatch from the Governor to 
any of them, to hold themselves in readiness? 

A. No; only I heard that Colonel Packer said that he would 
issue an order, and date it back, if necessary, to cover every- 
thing that Col. French and Col, Beaird were doing. 

By Mr. Little: 

'Q You stated that the first five "whereases" of the Governor's 
prochimation were false? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you consider the action of the Tax League, and of the 
committee of ten as orderly and in accordance with law? 

A. It was orderly; I don't pretend to say that it was in ac- 
cordance with law. 

Q. You have stated that French and Furlong, as militia offi- 
cers, ranked Hall? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Are they not members of the Tax League, or in sympa- 
thy with it? 

A. Beaird is not in the Tax League; I believe all three of 
them are in sympathy with thtm; but I think every honest 
man in Warren county is in sympathy with them; I would like 
to say this, that it is to the interest of the people of Warren 
county and the people of Vicksburg, to protect the negrc^, and 
there is a disposition to protect him in all his rights and privi- 
leges; I have been a member of the Tax League for over two 
years — since its organization — and m}^ idea has been, from the 
beginning, and is still, that we are not fighting the negroes 
because of their color, but that we are simply fighting thieves 
and plunderers, and protecting our property. 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. Was Crosbj' the legally elected Sheriff? 

A. I believe he was ; I have never ahd any doubt as to that. 

EMILY SHEFPERD, 

Being duly sworn, saj^s: [Examination in chie/.^ 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. Where do you live? 

A. I lived OQ Snyder's Bluff, 1)efore they took George Shep- 



192 

perd off and killed him ; I lived at Mr. Waldly's ; I live now 
with my father, at Sn3^der's Bluff. 

Q. Who was George Shepperd? 

A. He was my husband ; Mr. Waldly said that if he would 
stay at home, he would see that no person should hurt him; 
he listened at what Mr. Waldly said, and stayed at home until 
they came there and took him off. 

Q. Who camp there and got him? 

A. Buck Ross, Charles McKeever, Pomp Webster and Mr. 
McCaiter. 

Q. Tell us what they did with him? 

A. Tliey came there and asked him whether he had any 
arms; he said he had none; they knew that before; Mr. Mc- 
Keever said: "Buck Ross, he's got no arms;" then the}' came 
and told him to get up and put on his clothes, that they were 
going to carry him off; they said they were going to carry him 
to headquarters ; he asked them : " What are you going to do 
with me;" they said they had to carr}^ him to headquarters 
and keep him until Hogan came from town; then, on Sunday 
evening, they came and carried him off and killed him; Mr. 
Waldly said he would swear to the men that took him away, if 
it had to be proven. 

Q. How do you know that they killed him? 

A. Bartley Bowls said that ; Pomp Webster, McKeever and 
Buck Ross, canied him off. 

Q. Have you seen him since he was killed? 

A. No; he is l3ing up yonder, unless they have buried him; 
they said that the negroes should not bury the dead; he is 
lying over from Mrs. Fox's house, over by the gin-house; they 
shot his head all to pieces ; it looks like 

Q. Have j'ou seen him? 

A. No; I was scared to go and see him; he left some little 
children behind; I was talking to Mr. Waldly that night, and 
Mr. Waldl}' said that he would not let them kill him; I asked 
him, would not he go up on Sunda}^ and see that they did not 
hurt George; Mr. Waldly went up to the Bluff, at headquar- 
ters, and he got after them, and told them not to kill George; 
and Mr. Waldly gave me his word that the Captain (Captain 
Reed), said he would see that George was not hurt; then after 
that they turned him loose, and then they caught him after they 
had turned him loose; I went up to the Bluff and saw Hogan, 
and asked him: "What have you all done with George?" he 
said: " 1 don't know nothing at all about George; I saw him 
sitting at the store at the Bluff;" I said: "Mr. Hogan, 3'ou 
have all taken George off and killed him, and he has done 
nothing; 3'ou have known him since he was a child;" and Mr. 
Hogan said they had not killed George; I then asked him 
what company had got George, and he told me Capt. Reed's 
compan3^ 

Q. What kind of companies were these, Capt. Hogan's and 
Capt. Reed's? 



193 

A. White men; I don't know them all; white men and boys 
together; and Mr. Baker, he swore that George was in that 
fight the time Olive Brown was killed, and George told them 
that he was not in that fight; Pomp Webster asked George: 
"Now, tell me whether you were in that fight or not;" and 
George said: '• No; I'll die with the truth in my mouth; but I 
was not there;" and Pomp Webster said: "Yes, he'll tell any 
tale;" then they counted the buckshot, loading their guns, and 
Baid they would put every one in his body; I was afraid to go 
to the Bluff on Sunday; the men were carrying on with the 
women so bad, when they caught them away off, so I was 
afraid to go. 

Q. What men turned your husband out, and aught him 
again, and killed him ? 

A. Mr. Hogan's men, they say; I don't know how true it is. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Where do you live ? 

A. At Snyder's bottom. 

Q. Who with? 

A. With my father, Benjamin Brown. 

Q. How far is that from here ? 

A. I could not tell you. 

Q. Where did you live ? 

A. At Mr. Waldly's place, about a mile from the bottom; 
they always called it Milday's bottom. 

Q. WheVe was your husband on the day of the fight, on 
Monday ? 

A. He came down here somewhere on the road, at Beech 
Fork; he came that far, and then they all went back. 

Q. Who did he come with ? 

A. His company. 

Q. What did he come for? 

A. They said that they all had to come to town to make 
some apology, or something; pretty nearly all of them had no 
arms; George came to me on Sunday night and said: " Annie, 
I have got to go;" I said: "Where to?" He said: "To 
town;" I said: "What for?" He said: "Some men have 
taken Crosby out of his office, and run him off, and we have to 
go to town and put him back;" I asked him: "Is there going 
to be a fight?" He said: "No; I don't think there will be;" 
I told him then that I didn't want him to go if there was going 
to be a fl^ht; he said he didn't think there would be any ; he 
started away on Monday morning, and stayed away all day 
Monday and Monday night, and came back on Tuesday even- 
ing; then he walked about the bottom, and they saw him; he 
staved there all along the week after he came home, and 
waiked about among "them; Mr. Waldly told him they should 
not hurt him, and that was the reason he would not go off: I 
told him that he had better go off in the woods, like the 



194 

balance; and he told me that Mr. Waldl}^ would go and see 
that he should not be hurt; so he stayed at home. 

Q. Wliere was Brown buried, who* was killed in the fight on 
Monday ? 

A. At Snyder's Bluff. 

Q. Close to where you were living ? 

A. Two miles from where I was living; it was on Tuesday 
they had the fight there. 

Q. How far was Tuesday's fight from where you live? 

A. Two miles from wliere I lived ? 

Q. How many were killed there ? 

A. No colored man was killed at that fight, but a white man 
was hurt there ; the black men started that fight, because there 
had been a fight at Freetown; they started to go to Freetown, 

and when they got down as far as W P 's, of Hogan's 

company, they (white men) were all down there to bury this 
man, and they saw the colored men come along, and they shot 
at them; the colored men were scared, and they fired one volley 
at them and then the}' ran. 

Q. Who ran ? 

A. The white men ran after them; both parties broke from 
one another, as if they were scared; and they reported it 
around there, that any man they caught they would kill. 

Q. Was your husband in that fight? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. How do you know he was not ? 

A. I was down at m^^ father's, and he was at Beech Fork, 
and at the time of fighting he was coming home fiom there; 
his brother was down there; he was coming home. 

Q. You say his brother was in the fight '? 

A. There are two brothers, and thev had been down here. 

Q. In the first fight ? 

A. No; they did not get into it; and when they were fighting 
down where the funeral was, George had not gotten home, but 
he was coming home. 

Q. Did not George belong to the same club that was in the 
fight at Snyder's Bluff? 

A. No; Tom belonged to Antoine Mack's club; they are 
different clubs. 

Q. When did you first see George after the fight down here 
on Monday ? 

A. He came home on Tuesday — Tuesday morning; I came 
up to see what companies were in the fight; George and those 
men were at 'Squire Hebron's Church ; they had not been in 
the fight. 

Q. What time did George get home? 

A. On Tuesday, just about sun<lown ; these men had had the 
fight then, and he dodged up on the hill-side, and Mr. Waldly 
saw him; he told the men that he was not in the fight; but 
Mr. Henrj' Baker swore that George was in that fight; I said 
to him, "Mr. Baker, they have killed George;" he said, "I 



195 

told them that George was in the fight, and I made sure he 
was in the,figbt; but," he said, " Mr.Wahlly came here and told 
me he was not; and," he said, " novv I am sorry I said that 
George was in the fight ; but he was scared, and made sure he 
saw George." 

Q. What time on Sunday evening was it when men went 
there and got George? 

A. Saturday night they came and took him out of bed; 
that was eight or nine o'clock in the night. 

Q. How many of them were there ? 

A. Just two men came in the house; Ross and Pomp. Web- 
ster came in the house, and McKeever and McCarter stood 
on the galler}^ 

Q. Had you known all those men before ? 

A. Yes; I spoke to them. 

Q. Where do they live ? 

A. I don't know ; they pass backwards and forwards. 

Q. How did you know the men that did not come in the 
house? 

A. They had a li^^ht at the door; I spoke to them and said: 
" Mr. McKeever, what are you going to do ?" 

Q. And you don't know where the}' live ? 

A. No; Mr. Waldl}' knows. 

Q. Where does he live? 

A. Right at his home, close by where I live; Tillman Waldly 
sa.js he will come and swear to the men that took him off; 
and Mr. Hogan, sa^^s he will swear to the men that took 
him away. 

Q. Have you seen Hogan about it ? 

A. Yes ; he says they were not his men, but Capt. Reed's 
men; Capt. Reed, who lives down here somewhere. 

ANN TOLES, 

Being duly sworn, says: ^Examination in chief A 

By IVIr. Sullivan: 

Q. Where do you live ? 

A. At Mr. Blake's place, at the Redwood place, ten miles 
from Vicksburg. 

Q. Are yo,u married ? 

A. I was. 

Q. Where is your husband ? 

A They killed him; took him out and killed him. 

Q. Who killed him ? 

A. I don't know ; it was the men that fired on him ; the men 
tha'u were going about the countr}^ taking people out and kill- 
ing them. 

Q. Were they colored or white men ? 

A. White men. 

Q. When was j'Our husband killed ? 



196 

A. He was taken away from my house; he went away from 
my house to go and get his boys, and to see an old blind man 
about hauling some cotton, and when he got to Antoine's terry, 
to the store, the men were there, and they took him ; I don't 
know whether they took him this side or the other side, or 
right at the store. 

Q. Have you ever seen him since ? 

A. Yes; 1 saw him after he was killed. 

Q. Where did you see him after he was killed ? 

A. They carried him right back to Mrs. Fox's in that old 
field; and they killed him on the right hand side of the road, 
as vou go up. 

Q. Up where? 

A. I am not acquainted with the woods in that part of the 
country. 

Q. Was it in the woods or in an old that field you saw him? 

A. In an old field; I saw him on the ninth day alter he was 
killed. 

Q. He had been lying dead in that old field nine days before 
you saw him ? 

A. Yes ; since they took him. 

Q. Do you knovv any of the men who took him ; or have 
you heard ? 

A. I have heard about it; but I "don't know. 

Q. State who you heard took him ? 

A. I heard that the company did . 

Q. Whose company ? 

A. They say it was — anyhow, one was Mr. Fosset, and 
another one Mr. Hogan, and another one Mr. Wiley — a man 
they call Wiley; and I did hear that Mr. Tucker was along, 
Richard Tucker, and also Mr. Tucker that lives over the river 
— Yazoo river; there came a great drove b}^ our house; I am 
not certain whether it was that same drove that took him; they 
took him away on Thursday, the 10th of December. 

Q. And you did not see him until nine days afterwards? 

A. No. 

Q. And then he was Ij'ing in an old field, dead? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How many bullet-holes were there in him then? 

A. I never went close enough to see; but his throat was cut; 
his and another man's throats were cut — uncle Joe Cook; and 
there was another man, they say his name was George Shep- 
perd; I saw my husband and Joe Cook; they took these two 
together from the store. 

Q. Your husband went ofif from your bouse, and the3^ took 
him away from the store? 

A. Yes. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. How do you know that it vras on the 10th of December 
that he was taken off ? 



197 

A. T took notice of the days. 

Q. What time in the day was it he was taken off? 

A. He got right up and put his clothes on and went away 
goon in the morning? 

Q. What time did they take him away from the store? 

A. I don't know ; I was sick ; I reckon it was about ten 
o'clock in the da3% as near as I can come to it; I got up to the 
bridge, and they told me that they had him, going along. 

Q. You did not see anybody having him at all? 

A. No. 

Q. Where was your husband on Monday, the day of the 

fight? 

A. He was in town with his wagon. 

Q. What did he bring to town? 

A. Cotton and corn, from Evans'; I think betook in a load 
from Evans'; I am not certain. 

Q. Who is Evans? 

A. He is a railroad man that came up there. 

Q. Is he a white man or colored? 

A. He is a colored man. 

Q. What time did your husband leave home on Monday 

morning? 

A. He left, I believe, about day. 

Q. You are certain that he did not leave until Monday 
morning? 

A. No; he did not. 

Q. Who came along with him? 

A. Evans. 

Q. Any one else. 

A. I don't know of any one else ; thenj after that he camo 
home on Monday evening. 

Q. What time? 

A. I don't know exactly what time he got home; I am sure 
he got home before night. 

Q. Did he carry his wagon back v/ith him? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How far is it from Vicksburg to where you live? ^ 

A. I think it is between ten and eleven miles; it is called 
eight miles to Mrs. Blake's, and three miles from there to his 
quarters. 

Q. How far does Evans live from where you live? 

A. About three times as far as from here to the street. 

Q. Did you see anything in the wagon on that day? 

A. No, sir. , 1 lo 

Q. Did you not hear the man say what he was going to hauir 

A. No. 

Q. Did 3^ou hear him say anything about hauling? 
A. I heard him or Evans say that he was carrying in either 
cotton or corn. 

Q. What sort of a team did he have ? 

A. Two mules, one bay and the other a sorrel black mule. 



198 

(^. Oo \ on Kiu>\v w liiM'i> t hosr uumi imi liiul \ vm:-, iiti-^l»;uul tirsU 
wluMi lliov look him oil" ? 

A. No; thoy say llioy cjiniod liiu\t>vor to n briilgooul thoro, 
nmi nOtM' thov liol ovor tlu> bridiio tlu\v toM lum u> iU»iil>lo- 
quiok. ;uul ihnl llu\v ran \\\n\ t'lom tlioro lv> nvIumo tlu\v oaniod 
liim ii\ l>}u k of Mrs, Kv>x's; thoro is whi iv tl\ov killovl him. 

Q. Hut lho\ »litl not vnrrv him to tluMr hoa>u|u.'irtois lutoro 
that y 

A. I »lon't kiu>\v about that. 

Q Whoro was lu> on Tnosilay? 

A, At homo, ovtMT tla\\ until Thursviay inornluiy. 

Q, How [\\v was that lliihl tVom von, wIum\> Vauiihn was 
killoO? 

A. Two mllos tho i>ihor sido ol' whoro 1 was, 

1^. Was your husbauil at homo at tho lin\o v^t* that tl^lit? 

A. Y OS, sir. 

Q l>ivl ho hriuij his liun witli him vv\ [\\:\\ dav, wii^a h.^ wont 
to town, on M<Mutay? 

A. No: ho ili^tn't havo lus^uu; not ovon his pookot pistol. 

C^. Yon tli>n't know wl^o killovl hin\V 

A. Nv> 

Q. nv>w tar was hivS IkvIv t'rom tho i\>avi. wiion yo^n saw it? 

A. Alnmt tho loui^th of this liv>nso; about tour timos the 
lenifth ot this room, 1 ivokon» t*i\>m thoroaa. 

C^. Uiiiht <iowu iu a tlalV 

A. Yos. 

C^. How oloso k\\\{ you ^\> to tho body? 

A. Closo oiuMJiih ti> jioo wlio it was. 

<.^> Whojv tU(t Joo Cv>ok livo? 

A. .\bv>nl a nuti\ I supjMso, t^\>m us. 

Q. nivi ho oomo wit!\ yvMir husband tv^ town, ou thai day? 

A. N\>; uv>t that I knv>w of. 

UAKKlhT COOK, 

HoiuiT duly s\vorn» says : [KxaMimtthm (h cht\f.] 

l>y Mr. Gill: 

(^. Aro you marriod: 

A. Yos; I havo twv> oluivlron. 

Q. WIkmv is your husband: 

A. Thoy kilbni him, 

Q. Havo you soon him smoo ho was kuUvi ; 

A. NvK \ wvmUln't iri> attor hin\; I viivl.^'t want to soo him; 
l;hi>y toUt mo how t>ad thoy dono hiu> 

t.^ What d\> you knv>w about his boii.^; k;;,Ovi; 

A. I dou*t know \vhv> killod him; ho was kidod on tho 8th, I 
beUevtn I ihiuk th<ftv kiUtHi him ou tho. samo dav ihoy kiilcii 
Ann Tvdos' husband. 

Q. What was VvMir hnshaiut's namo? 

A, Joo Cook. 



199 

Q. Do yon know where he is now ? 

A. Yes; he is Ij'ing about two miles right up the river; they 
carried him right around in a circle. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Plow far do 3^ou live from here? 

A. Fifteen miles; at Antoine's ferry, on Yazoo river, at Blake's 
place. 

Q. You are certain that your husband was killed? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Where was he on 3Ionday, the day of the fight? 

A. At home when they had tlie fight; and then the day be- 
fore tlioy killed him they had a fight right by my house, where 
they killed one white man. 

Q. Who shot first there? 

A. I don't know. 

Q How many colored men were there in that fight? 

A. There were only two or three colored men there in the 
road. 

Q. These white men who had the fight there, were they the 
ones who were going on with Brown's body to bury it? 

A. Yes. 

Q. What was that white man's name who was killed there? 

A, Mr. Vaughn. 

Q. How many white men were there in that crowd? 

A. I don't know — about forty or fifty; there .vas a long 
string of them; I could not tell how many; they had gun3 
there glistening. 

Q. And how many black men were there? 

A. I couldn't say. 

Q. The white men shot first? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How do you know that? 

A. I saw the smoke coming from that direction, and then 
the men ran. 

Q. Whiehjiarty ran ? 

A. The black men. 

Q. Did not the white men fall back? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. How do you know that the black men ran ? 

A. I saw them. 

Q. How far was that from your house? 

A. A half a mile. 

Q. Was your husband there? 

A. No; he was at home; when I heard the guns, I called 
him. 

Q. Your husband was not in any of the fights? 

A. No, sir; he was not. 

Q. Who took him away from your house? 

A. He was not right at the house; he was at the river fish- 
ing; I heard the next day that they had taken him off. 



200 

Q. That was on Thursday? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You never saw him after he went fishing? 

A. No; he went down to the river, and Mr. Knight told him 
if he wanted his money, why didn't he go to the store and get 
it; and when he went down the»'e, I never saw him any more. 

Q. How far was it from 3^our house to where he was killed? 

A. It was about a mile and a quarter, right around in the 
woods. 

Q. You don't know who took him off ? 

A. No, sir. 

SARAH JANE GREEN, 

Being duly sworn, says: [Examination in chief.] 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. Where were you on Monda}^, the day of the fight here 
in town ? 

A. I was at home; I live right on out the Jackson road, six 
miles from town ; my husband, Mingle Green, did not know 
an3'thing about the fight ; he came to town to get some money 
changed, and pay debts and buy rations; I heard the guns 
fired, and I ran up the road to see which way my husband was ; 
I went on, and when 1 cam.e nigh enough to my husband to 
see him, the white folks halted him; he said to them: "lam 
after no harm at all; I went to get rations ; " and then, before 
I could get up to him, they sh< t him, and he fell on his knees 
and went to prating; and then they took a sabre and split his 
head open while he was on his knees; then they took fifty dol- 
lars from him; the}'^ tore his pocket right off. 

Q. Who were these men ? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. Was your husband armed at that time ? 

A. No. 

Q. Was he riding or walking? 

A. He was walking. 

Q. What time in the day was that? 

A, Between one and tw^o o'clock. 

Q. How far was your husband from Vicksburg then ? 

A. About two miles out. 

Q. He was going home then ? 

A. Yes; with his rations on bis back. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. How far do you live from here ? 

A. Six miles. 

Q. How far from here was your husband killed ? 

A. He was killed about two miles from here, on the Jack- 
son road. 

Q. How came you to be there, four miles from your home ? 



201 

A. I carte running; I was coming on before he was killed; 
after I heard the guns firing so briskly, I started, and before I 
could get to him the white men shot him; he told them, " I 
am after no harm;" they said, " shoot him down, shoot him 
down," and he fell on his knees and went to praying. 
Q. What time did you leave home that day ? 
A. Between one and two o'clock. 
Q. What time did your husband leave home? 
A. Soon in the morning; about sun-up, or a little before. 
Q. And you left home between one and two o'clock? 
A. Yes. 

Q. How came you to leave home ? 

A. I heard the guns; and some men came along and said 
there was fighting, and I said, " I reckon they are killing ray 
husband." 
^ Q. Did your husband get the rations ? 
A. Yes. 

Q. Did he pay his debts. 

A. No; he owes fifteen dollars now to a colored man. 
Q. And you left home on account of hearing guns firing ? 
A. Yes. 

Q. And guns were firing all along ? 
A. Yes. 

Q. What time was your husband killed, did you say ? 
A. Between one and two o'clock; and they told us women if 
we did not get out of the road, we might get hurt. 
Q. Did all you women leave your houses ? 
A. Yes; we all came up to see whether they had killed our 
husbands. 

Q. And you heard these guns distinctly four miles oil i 
A. Yes; I heard them popping like canes. 
Q. You are certain of the time, that you left home between 
one and two o'clock ? 
A. Yes. 

Q. Had you been to dinner before you left home ^ 
A. No, sir; I didn't take time; I left it on the fire. 
Q. What time do you eat your dinner ? 
A. I didn't eat anv there. 
Q. Did you stop directly you saw these white men ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How far were 3^ou from them when you first saw them? 

A. A good distance; I believe about a hundred yards; I was 
going right on, and they told me to stand back ; after that I 
saw him. 

Q. How far was he from you when you saw him ^ 

A. A hundred yards from me; tKe white folks wei-e all 
strangers to me; my husband had come from one mad to cut 
off some of the distance. ^ 

Q. How far was that from where you were ? 

A. About a hundred yards* 

Q. You don't know what it was that killed him ? 

A. No. 



202 

Q. Hon- do you know that the\' took fift}^ dollars from him ? 

A. 1 gave him fifty doUars to cliange, and pay debts, and 
bring the balance home; and he didn't have any on him; it 
was my money. 

Q. What did he buy in town ? 

A. Some sugar — a dollar's worth, and a dollar's worth of 
coffee, some meat, a dollar's worth of flour, seventy-five cents 
worth of tobacco. 

Q. Who told you that ? 

A. Mr. Smith counted out the mone}'', and bought the things 
for liim — Tom Smith. 

Q. Did he pay for those things ? 

A. Yes; he paid for the things, and the balance of the money 
he was bringing home for Christmas. 

Q. How ao you know that ? 

A. Mr. Smith said he gave him the balance. 

Q. Do 3'ou know that he did not lend any money on the 
road ? 

A. No, sir; he didn't lend any money to an}'- one. 

Q. You know that that was all the money he spent ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And you say, they took fifty dollars from him ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How was that, when he left home with onh' fifty dollars, 
and bought rations? 

A. I gave him fifty dollars in his pocket; and Mr. Smith 
owed him fifteen; I gave him the fifty dollars to change, and 
to pay some of his debts; Tom Smith then gave him fifteen; 
five dollars of that he paid out, and the ten dollars he did not 
break ; and he changed the money all up. 

By Mr- Street: 

Q. Were those men that killed 3''Our husband riding or walk- 
ing? 

A. They were riding. 

Q. How man3^ were there ? 

A. There were six men. 

Q. What kind of horses were they riding ? 

A.. One was riding a grey horse, and one was on a dark com- 
plected horse; tiiey came right on by me after killing him ; 
they all had guns, and had big overcoats on, with the capes 
hanging down. 

Q What else did they have to fight with ? 

A. I saw them have sabres. 

Q. How many of them ? 

A. Six men. 

Q. Were they riding fast or ^low ? 

A. They rode fast, and the}^ told us that we had better get 
off, or we might get shot. 

Q. Were you walking fast or slow from your house ? 



I 



203 

A. I ran every step of the way till I got to the forks of the 
road, and then I walked as fast as I could. 

Q. Were you then nearly up to where your husband was? 

A. Yes; and I saw the guns glistening so— 

Q, What became of the sugar and coffee your husband 

bouglit ? 

a" God knows. 

Q. Did you see these men take his money ? 

A. Yes; the one that split his head open was the one that 
took his money. 

Q. What kind of a horse was he riding ? 

A. A gre}' horse. 

Q. What road was that on ? 

A. That was right on the Jackson road. 

Q. How far from the Femberton monument ? 

A. A o-ood ways from the Femberton monument, the other 
side, i\Ao miles the other side. 

Q. And shooting was going on all around? 

A. Y'-es. 

Q. Did tiiey shoot any after that ? 

A. Yes; they ordered some men out of their houses; they 
killed Jack Barton and Wash. Tinson; I saw them wnen they 
double-(iuicked them out of their houses, and made them ruu 

up the road. i -n i 9 

Q. H<^w far were they from where your husband was killed.'' 

A. They were killed a good ways from my husband, a mile 
apart; there were two men on black horses ordered them out; 
I don't know them; there was a woman out there, who I had 
to ste that my husband's body was buried. 

Q. In what place was he shot ? 

A. In the shv>rdders; the ball came out as big as my finger; 
and when he fell on his knees and went to praying, they split 
his head open. 

Q. How many colored men were there along with your hus- 
band ? 

A. Nobody; he was going home. 

Q. Did you not see any colored men near him ? 

A. No. 

Q. What were these white men shooting at ? 

A. They were running them colored men in the cane-brake; 
they wounded some, and they had them all scattered in the 
cane brake? 

Q. Do you know of any one killed besides those you have 

named ? 

A. No. 

Q. Who buried your husband ? 

A. I had a woman on the place to come and get a coffin; old 
Mr. Vandcrburg, a white man out there, had him buried. 



204 

HERLITA BARLOW, 

Being duly sworn, says : \^Examination in chief .^ 

By Mr. Gill: 

"^Q. Where do you live? 

A. I live at Doctor Cook's place, six miles from here, on tko 
Jackson road. 

Q. Are you married? 

A. Jacob Barlow was my husband. 

Q. Where is he? 

A. He is dead. 

Q. When was he killed? 

A. The time these men were fighting, on Monday, about one 
o'clock. 

Q. Do you know the day of the month? 

A. I never kept an account of the month. 

Q. It was on the Monday when they were fighting about 
Vicksburg? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did you see him killed? 

A. I saw him killed; I was looking right at them ; the white 
men came right straight from Mrs. Banks'; we were so far from 
where they were fighting; but I begged him to go and hide; 
he would'nt; so, when shey rode up — three of them — they 
made him run about a hundred yards; I was standing looking 
right at them ; he begged them: "Please, men, don't kill me;" 
and they just shot him right through the head. 

Q. You say there were three of them ? 

A. There were three along; there was one of them shot him, 

Q. Do you know who they were? 

A. No, sir; I don't know none at all, more than that one 
was a doctor; they came from Mrs. Banks', right straight 
across. 

Q. You were not acquainted with them? 

A. No. 

Q. Were they white or colored? 

A. White men, that came from Mrs. Banks* place. 

Q. How far do you live from Mrs. Banks? 

A. I live about a mile, or a mile and a half, from Mrs. Banks. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. Do j'ou know Sarah Jane Green? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How far does she live from yon ? 

A. She lives the other side of me. 

Q. How far do 3^0 u live from here? 

A. Six miles from here, on Doctor Cook's place. 

Q. How far does Sarah Jane Green live the other side of 
you? 

A. I don't know; 1 never have beeti to her house. 



205 

Q. How far do you think it is? 

A. It must be a mile, I reckon. , 

Q. Do you live right on the road ? 

A. Not very far otf. 

Q. Did you see Mrs. Green go by your house that morning ? 

A. No; I never saw her. 

Q. Would she have to come by your house to come to town? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You say it was a doctor that killed your husband? 

A. No ; I say one of the three was a doctor. 

Q. Was he the same doctor that was said to have killed a 
man at Mrs. Banks' place? 

A. Ye^. 

Q. Why do you say so? 

A. They came right from Mrs. Banks'. 

Q. What sort of a looking man was he? 

A. A settled-aged man. 

Q. About as old as that gentleman (Mr. Champlin), there ? 

A. No. 

Q. As old as this gentleman, (the Reporter)? 

A. No; I don't believe. 

Q As old as this gentleman, (Mr. Gill)? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. He was a settled aged man ? 

A. Yes. 

Q.^ Was he a large man ? 

A. This man I was talking with was a large man. 

Q. How do you know he was a doctor? 

A. The woman over there told me. 

Q. What sort of looking men were the others ? 

A. One was a young man. 

Q. Did he have whiskers ? 

A. Yes; just began to have, 

Q. What kind of horses were they riding? 

A. One had a red looking horse, and this largest man was 
on a black looking horse— iron-gray, black looking. 

Q. The other was a sorrel horse? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And the third? 

A. One had a right white horse. 

Q. A white horse, an iron-gray, and a red or sorrel horse ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. You say this doctor was a large man? 

A. I couldn't say positively that it was a doctor, but the 
women say it was Doctor Quinn. 

Q. He was a large man ? 

A. I think so. 

Q. Did he have whiskers? 

A. Yes; and he had a kind of a wart on his face—right here, 
(the right side). 

Q. Was it large? 
In~-15 



206 

A. Large? no. 

Q. Were his whiskers white ? 

A. No; liglit color. 

Q Were they large or small ? 

A. Along here, I think a good little smart bush. 

O. Just on his chin? 

A. Yes. j 

A. Not all over his face? 

A. No. 

Q. About like that gentleman, there, (the Reporter)? 

A. Yes; onl}" a little more. 

Q. What time was it about, when your husband was killed? 

A. About one o'clock. 

Q. Was he shot more than once? 

A. No, sir. 

PETER CLAY, 

Being duly sworn, says: [Examination in chief. '\ 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. Where do you live? 

A. By the Pemberton monument, the first bouse on the right 
hand side. 

Q. Where were you on Monday, the 7th of December? 

A. At, home. 

Q. Did you stay at home on that day ? 

A^ I was not out with a gun on that day, at any time; I left 

home l)etween eight and nine o'clock; I went to ; they 

came there and took me away from Smith's house; he keeps a 
grocery there; they took me awa}^ from there, and took me to 
jail; there were five men who had been in my house, trying to 
get away from them; and they took us all to jail. 

Q. What time on Mon'^ay were you put in jail? 

A. Between eleven and twelve o'clock. 

Q. Dill they have an}' warrant for your arrest? 

A. No; I don't think so. 

Q. How long did the}^ keep you in jail? 

A. We were turned out on Thursday, at twelve o'clock. 

Q. Were you tried before any magistrate ? 

A. We were not tried before anybody; Bill Price came and 
got me out. 

Q. What did they put 3^ou in jail for? 

A. They said that they arrested me, because these men were 
in rny h«'use. 

The Committee here adjourned to meet in Jackson, Miss., at 
the call of the chairman. 



207 
SEVENTH DAY. 

Jackson, Miss., Januar}^ 7, 1875. 

The Committee met at the call of the Chairman; all the 
members being present. 

T. W. CARDOZO, 

Being duly sworn, says (after having heard read to him por- 
tions of the testimony of Judge Luke Lea, and being asked 
bv the chairman whether he desired to make a statement be- 
fore the committee): 

Under the law for the redemption of land, the legal owner 
is entitled to one year, in which to redeem the land. Several 
parties came to my office, among them Judge Cook and Judge 
Marshall, prominent lawyers, who claimed themselves to be 
the legal owners of certain lands; I propounded the question 
to the^n whether they were the legal owners or not ? they said 
they were; I then gave the deeds to them; afterward the As- 
sessor and Mr. Campbell, who worked in the Sheriff's office, 
came to me and told me that the land redeemed by Marshall 
did not belong to the State; Mr. Bourne, the Assessor, said 
that several prominent colored men had entered that lend in 
the Auditor's office; I told Mr. Marshall of the fact; he said 
he did not care, he had my deed, and if the parties did not get 
off the land, he would eject them by suit in the Chancery 
Court; Judge Cook's land was assessed at twenty-two dollars 
and a half ($.'.2 50) an acre; he said he was the legal owner 
also, and it was proven afterward that he was not; the Board 
of Supervisors, in a meeting in 1872, or 1871, had reduced the 
assessment on this land after it was sold to the State for taxes; 
Judge Cook asked me to let him redeem the land at the 
rate of assessment; Mr. Musgrove said that he would have 
to redeem it at .$22 50 an acre; I told Judge Cook that, 
and he said that he would be glad if I would let him 
redeem the land, so far as the State was concerned, at the 
rate of $22 50 an acre, and the balance at the rate of S2 50 an 
acre: it amounted to about $300 at that calculation; I came to 
Mr. Musgrove to make a settlement, and he refused to receive 
it; at the last session of the Legislature, Judge Cook spoke 
to me. and asked me to help him to get the Legislature to pass 
a bill to allow him to redeem the land at $ j 50 an acre; I came 
before the committee, and asked the committee to report 
favorably on the bill; I don't know whether the bill passed or 
not; tiien when this matter came up last summer I spoke to 
him ; he said that had he received a letter from the Auditor, tell- 
ing him that he would be allowed to pay the taxes at the re- 
duced rate of assessment — $2 50 an acre; J then told him that 
I had heard certain rumors of charges being made against me, 
and that, if no affidavits were made against rae, I would re- 



208 

fund the money to him, but otherwise 1 could not, because, if 
the Court (Iccideri that the amount I had in m^^ possession be- 
longed to the State, I wouh.l turn it over to the State; I made 
the same statement to other parties ; as evidence of that, here 
are copies of letters which I wrote to several i)arties in Vicks- 
burg; these are copies I made; one of them is to Martha M. 
Strong ; here are two returned to me, not yet opened; I wouUl 
be ghid if the committee would open them. [These letters 
are opened and examined by the committee.] 

Q. What 3'ear was this when 3^ou wrote these letters ? 

A. That was in November last, before the Grand Jurv took 
an}' action; the atlulavits had, however, alread}' been taken; 
now, tlie way in which this surplus amount was collected was 
this: The law required the Chancery Clerk to turn over the 
assessment rolls to me; I never had but two rolls while I was 
in office, and I made the calculations from those two assess* 
raent rolls; in some cases the assessments were too high, and 
in other cases they were too low; there was one tract of land 
redeemed by George M. Davis at $172 50; I came here to re 
port that land redemption after Mr. Gibbs was sworn in as 
Auditor, and the Land Clerk demanded of me $10 more than 
I had collected, and Musgrove & Hickling as attorneys, 
claimed that too much had been paid in, so I Vv'as placed be- 
tween the two parties; finall}', T made an offer on the figures 
as calculated by Musgrove ^ Hickling; the Auditor accepted 
it, and the surplus was returned to Mr. Hickling; now, this 
land matter was so mixed up in such a way that it was hard 
to tell what tracts belonged to the State and what did not ; 
I can prove that several tracts Were reported as belonging to 
the State, and at the same time other parties were pajdng tnxea 
on them; it seems that the Sheriff did not make proper re 
turns; after I found the matter so mixed up. I decided not to 
report to the Auditor then, but to await the final report of the 
Sheriff; and on those lands not reported by the Sheriff, I would 
pay over the mone}'' to the State, and if reported b}'' the 
Sheriff, I would refund the money to the parties ; that is to 
say, if Mr. Marshall was returned by the Sheriff as having 
paid the tax on this land, to the Sheriff', I would turn over the 
monc}' to the State, if not, I would return it; then, in some 
cases, there were two parties that claimed several tracts of land 
that were redeemed; the first lot of deeds sent to me b}* the 
Auditor, contained memoranda of lands entered in his office; 
in advertising descriptions of lands, I advertised, in some in- 
stances, lands belonging to other parties; among others, some 
belonging to tiie President of the lioard of Supervisors, and 
they came to me and shovved me their deeds; I then came to 
Jackson and requested Mr. Musgrove to make me a memo- 
randum on the deeds, of the land entered or redeemed ; he told 
me that that was not necessary, t!iat I had the records; now, I 
understand that it is said that I did not return any mone}' to 
the State that belonged to it; I understand they say I kept 



209 

about two thousand dollars ($2,000 00); here is a receipt for 
|50 54, that was paid Aug'ust 23, 1873; here is one for $127 91, 
paid February 12, 1874; here is one for $918 10, paid Oct. 31, 
1874; another for S38 75, paid Nov. 4, 1874; total receipts, 
$1,135 30; these last two receipts are in connection with tliose 
tracts of land about which there is so much litigation ; if I 
had turned the money into the treasury, and the parties who 
had these deeds had^'ome forward and claimed the land, my 
official bond would have been responsible; I therefore dechned 
to report them to the Auditor; but after consulting my lawyers, 
they said that if I made a full settlement with the Auditor, 
they did not think that the Grand Jury would indict me; 
otherwise, I would never have reported, but would have abided 
the decision of the Court; and the balance of the money not 
turned over to the State, I offered to return to the different 
parties as soon as the matter was settled in Court; now, as to 
the difference in the assessments: The lands were redeemed 
from the assessment rolls in my office; I had but two of those 
rolls; then, after that I came over here to the Auditor's office, 
and made a complete copy of all the rolls, and I made the 
calculation of the exact amount due on the lands, and 
reported that amount to the Auditor, and got his receipts; I 
did so, and I left the report in the hands of the Auditor for a 
week, and Mr. Smith, in that office, looked over the report, and 
I made my settlement upon the basis of his own calculation; 
after that I immediately wrote to the parties, that they could 
have the balance of the money not turned over to the State, if 
the case was not taken in Court; but when the case went in 
Court, I refused to turn it over; but if the Courts decide that 
the State is not entitled to the money, I will return it tothe 
parties; to show you that this land business was greatly mixed 
up, I will read vou a letter from the Auditor, to show you that 
certain tracts of land were reported as belonging to the State, 
when they had been entered by other parties; I consulted 
with Mr. Gibbs, after I heard of the intention of certain par- 
ties, and two lawyers, I made a report to him, before any action 
was taken, and he wrote this letter to me; [witness reads a 
letter from the Auditor, dated August 28,1874]; this shows 
you, that there were persons paying taxes on the lands, and 
that at the same time thev were reported by the Sheriff as be- 
Ionising to the State; when the Sheriff reports land as belong- 
ing'to Uie State, he gets a large commission, and from this let- 
ter, as well as from other testimony, it seems as though it was 
an object for the Sheriff to report lands as forfeited to the 
State after a man has paid his tax, so as to get doiable commis- 
sir>n ; I can prove that a portion of the land reported by Mr. 
Marshall, belonged to other parties; this information came to 
me immediately" after Mr. Marshall redeemed the land; I then 
told ^Ir. Marshall of the fact, and he said that he would not 
give up the deeds, and if the parties did not give up the land, 
he would eject them by suit in the Chancery Court; you see 



210 

there is a difference between the amount I paid into the treas- 
ury and the amount I collected. 

Q. What was the amount you collected ? 

A. I don't remember; the deeds issued to the parties will 
show the amount collected; the land business is so badly 
mixed up. 

By Mr. Street: 

Q. Did you keep any list or record of the money you re- 
ceived for lands ? 

A. Of all those I thought were correct. 

Q. Did you not keep a list in your office of all the monej' 
you collected ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Why did 3^0 u not do so ? 

A. I did lot keep a list of all I collected, only what I 
thought belonged to the State. 

Q. But of the mone}^ that did not belong to the State ? 

A. 1 kept a list of ail I collected; I have that list at home 
now. 

Q. Can you produce that list to the committee? 

A. i'es. 

Q. Will 3'ou do so? 

A. Yes, to-morrow; I have the list, as well as the descrip- 
tion of the lands; what I have stated, so far, is concernino- the 
lands. As far as these witness certificates are concerned When 
I first went into the Circuit Clerk's office, I found that some 
one in the Sheriff's office had been buying up scrip, or witness 
certificates; I remarked to this man — Campbell — that the law 
did not prevent me from speculating in these certificates, and 
that I intended to do so, and bid against him; he mentioned it 
to Mr. Furlong, and Mr. Furlong said: "All right; I will see 
that (.'ampbell don't buy any more wi.ness certificates, and you 
can bu}' what you choose; but," he said, "if you buy witness 
certificates, let Campbell buy those issued to 'the grand jury;'* 
so I bought all the witness certificates that I could possihl}^ 
get, and I made more mone}^ out of that than an}' other fee in 
the office; the law did not prevent me from buying them; J 
was very busy in that office; Mr. Dorsey was my deputy, but 
he was of very little use to me; I employed him for outside 
business more than anything else; In buying these certificates, 
1 would always take the parties into the consultation room, 
when buying from the witnesses; the law did not prevent me 
from witnessing the cross-marks, so I witnessed some of them 
myself; I don't know the parties to whom the certificates were 
issued, that are complained of ; in one or two instances, I issued 
certificates in wrong cases, and I recalled them, and issued them 
in the i)ioper cases; if these certificates you have, are indorsed 
b}' cross marks, the}' were colored men that got them; all cer- 
tificates that were issued to white men, were indorsed by per- 
sons who could write, themselves, and not a solitarj^ certificate 



211 

was indorsed or witnessed b}'- me, unless it was issued to a 
colored person, and at the proper time, these persons will be 
produced ; in some cases, the persons to whom the certificates 
were issued, could not write their names, and they requested 
me to make their cross marks; I did so; I was in the office two 
years, and transacted all the business myself; Mr. Musgrove. 
did not object to any of these certificates brought to him, 
until December, 1873, when I brought two to him in which a 
large amount of mileage was allowed ; he said he did not want 
to pay them, because the number of miles extended beyond the 
limits of the State; I told him that I would get a mandamus 
to compel him to pay them; I did so, before Judge Brown; the 
mandamus was ordered, and as soon as that business was set- 
tled, I settled with the Auditor, and he issued me a certificate 
for the amount. 

By the Chairman: 

Q. I see from these certificates here, that there are a num- 
ber issued to the same party in three different State cases; how 
is it that you allowed that witness to claim attendance in three 
cases for the same day? 

A. I think not, sir. 

Q. They all bear the same date? 

A. They are three different terms. 

Q. You don't know that witness [the certificates being shown 
to witness]? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. You don't know whether he was colored or white ? 

A. All with cross-marks were issued to colored people. 

Q. Did you bu}^ this certificate ? 

A. Y^es — [issued to J. H. SwatleyJ. 

Q. Did you issue four certificates to Gillie Smith? 

A. Y''es; I issued them. 

Q. Do 3^ou know him? 

A. No; I don't know him. 

Q,. He was summoned as a witness in that case ? 

A. I presume so; the subpoena in the Clerk's office will 
show. 

Q. Did 3'ou issue four certificates to L. LeGrane ? 

A. Yes; that is my hand writing. 

Q. Did you issue all of these — thirty-six — certificates, all 
issued on November the 15th; look at them carefully ? 

A. Shev Rogers, he is a colored man; Jeff* Flowers — yes; 
you must not expect me to know all the witnesses that come 
in court; there are hundreds of witnesses that come in court 
each ^erm ; [witness continues to examine the certificate]; I 
remember some of the witnesses; At elia Chambers, she is a 
woman living in Vicksburg; I remember buying those certifi- 
cates; Ann Rogers, I thiidv I remember that; George W. 
Blakely, I remember buying that also; a good many of the 
names seem familiar to me; I don't know them all personall}'. 



212 

Q. You issued these certificates? 

A. Yes. 

Q. All of them? • 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do you know a person in Vicksburg named J. H. Swatly? 

A. I do not. 

Q. You don't know any such man? 

A. No. 

Q. You have looked at all of these certificates — have you 
seen any of them with 3'our name Gorged? 

A. I didn't look for that; [witness examines again]; they 
are all in my hand-writing. 

Q. Is the indorsement in your hand-writing ? 

A. Yes; they are witnessed by me. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. Here are five certificates in favor of J. H. Swatley — you 
issued them, you say? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you sign Mr. Swatley's name to them? 

A. I wrote the name, but whoever it was issued to made the 
mark; I wrote the name of J. H. Swatley. 

Q. You say you wrote the name of J. H. Swatlej^? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Mr. Swatley was a witness in that case ? 

A. I don't know, now; he must have been, or the certificate 
could not have been issued. 

Q. Do you know J. H. Swatley ? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Is it not necessary that witnesses should prove their at- 
tendance in Court before any certificate can be issued to them ? 

A. I swore every one. 

Q. They proved their attendance in open Court? 

A. Not always; the Judge told me that I could take them 
aside and swear them; the law says that they may claim their 
attendance fees fifteen da3's after the adjournment of Court; I 
often v/ould take them into the consultation room and swear 
them. 

Q. Do you know A. LeGrane ? 

A. I do not. 

Q. There are five witness certificates issued to A. LeGrane; 
Beejwhether 3'ou issued those ? 

A. They were all issued by me. 

Q. Did you not write LeGrane's name on them ? 

A. I wrote the name. 

Q. On all these five certificates ? 

A. Yes; but I did not make the cross-mark. 

Q. Here are five certificates issued to Gillie Smith; look at 
them and see whether you issued them ? 

A. I issued those, sir. 

Q. Did you indorse the name of Gillie Smith? 



213 



A. Yes; exceptino; the cross mark. 

Q. Do you know Gillie Smith ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Was Gillie Smith a witness in the case ? 

A. I presume he was, or the certificate would not have been 
issued. 

Q. Well, the certificate has been issued ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Then Gillie Smith was a witness in that case ? 

A. Yes; I don't remember any white person, but perhaps 
one or two, but who could write their names; all the others 
who made their cross-marks were colored men. 

Q. Do you not know that J. H. Swatley is a book-keeper in 
the city of Vicksburg ? 

A, I do not; there were a few cases where certificates were 
issued to persons in wrong cases, but they were recalled; often- 
times there would be forty or flftj^ witnesses in attendance. 

By INFr. Street: 

Q. How long were you Circuit Clerk of Warren county ? 

A. Two years, 

Q. Did you examine the law in the Code in reference to thb 
issuino: of witness certificates ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You took an oath to discharge the duties of your office 
in accordance with law. 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did 3'ou issue all those witness certificates in accordance 
with law. 

A. To the best of m}' knowledge, I did. 

Q Do'.^s not the law say that there shall be au allowance 
made by the Court for the pay of witnesses in State cases ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. There is no such law ? 

A. The law says that witnesses shall prove their attendance 
in op;'n Court; and the law fixes the amount. 

Q. Does not the law say that the certificate shall say wlien 
ife was allowed, and the page of the minutes where it was 
allowed ? 

A. No, sir; I don't know that it does. 

Q. Still you were Circuit Clerk two years ? 

A. Yes; I would like you to show me that law' ? 

Q Here is a certificate issued in a State case against Ben 
Allen ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You certify here that an allowance was entered upon the 
minutes of the Court ; was that a fact ? 

A. Yes; I will state this: My duties as Circuit Clerk were 
great; the requirements of the law would require more than 
three men could perform; and, in some cases, in issuing cer- 
tificates, I would issue them before entering them on the 



214 

minutes ; tbere may have been some cases in which I failed to 
enter the names of the witnesses on the minutes; I will state 
a parallel case: At the first term of the Court, Judge Lea cited 
a section of the Code requiring him to report all lines to the 
Auditor and Superintendent of Education, and he said he 
could not attend to that, and asked me to look over the records 
of the Court and find the cases for him; nearly all the certifi- 
cates were entered upon the minutes. 

Q. Then 3'our certificates are not true in cases where they 
were not entered ? 

A. That is a question for the Court to decide. 

Q. Your certificates state that the}^ were eniered on the 
minutes ? 

A. To the best of my knowledge they were. 

Q. Tlien, if they were not entered upon the minutes, your 
certificates are not true ? 

A. That is for tiie Cjurt to decide; there were a number of 
entries made on a page of tlie minutes after the adjournment 
of tlie term of Court; Judge Brown, in his testimony, I think, 
testified that they could be entered as a memorandum; that 
case went before the Grand Jury, in wdiich there were a num- 
ber of entries of names of witnesses on the minutes, who at- 
tended during the term of Court, but the entry being made 
after the adjournment of the Court, as a memorandum; that 
case went before the Grand Jury, and they did not do any- 
thing; I was completel}^ exonoraled. 

Q. When was that land entered by Marshall and others ? 

A. I don't remember now — in December, in the fall of 1872. 

Q. When did 3'ouquit that office ? 

A. On the 1st of January, ISl-i. 

Q. How long had that law been in force, allowing twelve 
months for the redemption of land by the owner ? 

A. I don't know ; from 1872, I believe. 

Q. Was it the case at any time that there was no time 
allowed for the redemption of land? 

A. No; always one year; that is my impression. 

Q. When was the land business first transferred to the Cir- 
cuit Clerk's oflSce ? 

A. I don't know. [December, 1872.] 

Q. You had a certified list of land held for redemption from 
the Auditor ? 

A. Yes; but it was not correct. 

Q. Who was to be the judge of that? 

A. It is hard to tell; the Auditor's books showed one thing, 
and the deeds another; the Auditor's books, the Assessor's 
rolls, and the Sheriff's tax-books did not compare properly; 
there was one case, that of J. W. Bradstone; his land was re- 
porteil to the Auditor as belonging to the State, and he came 
and produced his tax receipts to show that he had paid taxes 
every year; and the law requires that in such cases I shall 
make a deed to the part}*; I reported that case to the Auditor. 



215 

Q. You said that the Sheriff gets double commission on 
land reported as belonging to the IState ? 

A. The Sheriffs get a commission on all the taxes thoy col- 
lect, and where the land is forfeited to the State they get a com- 
mission ; if you go to the Sheriff and pay your tax, he gets his 
commission, and if he reports 3'our land as forfeited to the 
State, iie gets another commission; so he makes double com- 
mission. 

Q, That is not double commission; he keeps all the tax, and 
gets a commission besides ? 

A . That is what I mean — yes. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. It is in testimony that you collected two thousand dollars 
on account of delinquent land, as shown by the recorded deeds; 
why did you not make out your regular report, as required b}' 
law, to the Auditor ? 

A. Before the time came for me to make m}' regular report 
I learned of these discrepancies. 

Q. Did the law, in your judgment, release 3'ou from making 
this report, on account of these discrepancies ? 

A. 1 thought that if I paid over the State money belonging 
to otiier parties, my official bond would be responsible. 

Q. You have made a showing and produced receipts to show 
that you have paid over $1,135 30 to the State, on account of 
delinquent land; what did you do with the balance of the 
$2,uiO you collected? 

A. I have got it; that is, if that is the proper amount. 

Q. You have showed us copies of letters, which you had 
written to parties in Vicksburg, and which have been returned 
to you ? 

A. Yes; and I have also copies. 

Q. What is the date of them ? 

A. November 21, 1874. 

Q. Were these letters written after or before 3'ou heard of 
the fact that you would probably be indicted % the Grand 
Jur}^ ? 

A. Before, 

Q. And before any affidavit was made against you ? 

A. No; but before the Board met; it was before I had heard 
anything of this. 

Q. Had the affidavits been made against you before you 
wrote this letter ? 

A. Tliey had. 

Q. The first money you turned over to the Auditor was on 
August 23, 1873; what lime did you collect the first moiie}' ? 

A. I don't remember now. 

Q, When did you first hear that these affidavits would 
probably be made against you ? 

A. In August, lo74. 



216 

Q. \yhen did you learn that it was not certain to whom this 
monev belonsfed ? 

A r don't understand you. 

Q. You said, that the reason wh}' you did not make a settle- 
ment with the Auditor, was that you did not know to whom 
the money bekmged ? 

A. I did not say that I learned it from anybod3^ partioularly ; 
it was my impression on — 

Q. When did 3'ou first get that impression ? 

A. I don't remember; after ex;amining the complete roll in 
the Auditor's office. 

Q. When was that ? 

A. Last summer. 

Q. In August or July ? 

A. I cannot state; sometime in August or July, or in the 
fall of 1874; I cannot phice the date. 

Q. What were you doing with this money from the time you 
collected it, and from the time you went out of office, on the 
1st of January, 1874, up to August, 1874 ? 

A. I had the money; when you asked me a while ago whea 
the impression first came to my mind, I thought you were 
alluding to the discrepancies between the amounts paid over 
to the Auditor and the amounts collected; but I suppose it 
was witiiin a xevy short time after the land was redeemed that 
I became doubtful as to wliom the money belonged; I remem- 
ber Judge Marshall and Judge Cook came to me the da}^ after, 
and told me that the land was wrongly redeemed. 

Q. You went out of office on the li^t of January, 1874? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Why was it that you retained $9 8 10 up to the 31st of 
October, 1874, money that you knew belonged to the State? 

A. 1 did not kuow that it did. 

Q. How did 3'ou find out that it did belong to the State? 

A. I have not found it out yet ; Mr. Nugent, the attorne3% 
told me that if the money had been paid into the Treasury, 
and if it was i-ightfully paid, he thought I could not be in- 
dicted, and he advised me to get the correct amount from the 
Assessor's roll in the Auditor's office, and make a settlement, 
and he did not think that I could be sued for the monc}^; I am 
still in doubt whether the money belongs to the State. 

Q. You were in doubt, and still with that doubt you paid 
$1,100 00 into the Tj'easury, wh}' was it that refused to pay 
over the other nine hundred dollars? 

A. Because the land was not assessed properly in mj' office; 
I had but two assessment rolls; in the Auditor's office they 
have a complete roll, and I can get the assessment there for 
each year ; in m}^ office I had onl}^ the assessments for two years; 
I. made the calculation with Mr. Smith, the Land Clerk in 
the Auditor's office, and I made m}' settlement with the Auditor 
at his figures ; if he had said that the whole amount was due 
to the State, I ^\ould have paid it over. 



217 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Where is the balance of that monc}'? 

A. I have got it; I wrote to these parties that I would pay 
the mone}' over to them, if I was not brought in Court ; but 
if the case went to Court, and the Court decided that the money 
belonged to the State, I would have to pay it it over to the State; 
I will state, that George M. Davis redeemed a tract asses>ed at 
twenty-four dollars an acre; he settled at this figure, and when 
I came to Mr. Smith and told him about it, he claimed ten dol- 
lars more, and Musgrove & Hinkling said that it should have 
been redeemed at five dollars an acre, and that two much had 
been paid in; the Auditor finally agreed to receive it; I col- 
lected $172 50, and the Auditor claimed about $185 00, while 
Musgrove & Hinkling claimed that there was a surplus am.ount 
paid to me, that should be returned; I wrote in regard to that, 
and have in answer a letter (from the Cashier of the Vicks- 
burg Bank), written in Jul}^; Mr. Hinkling will come and tes- 
tify' that this surplus money was returned to him ; that was 
before anything went to Court ; but after the matter went to 
Court, of course I would not refund any monej^, until I found 
out who to pay it to. 

Q. Are you sued for this money, on 3'our official bond, by 
either the State or any individuals? 

A. No; Musgrove & Hickling threatened to sue* 

Q. Have you been sued? 

A. No» 

Q. How is this case to be settled, then^ in Court, if you are 
not sued? 

A. I am indicted for embezzlement; if I am convicted^ the 
monev beloni^s to the State. 

Q. Do you think that that amount, under that indictment, 
involves the question as to who the money belongs to? 

A. It is connected with that business. 

Q. You are indicted for embezzlement ? 

A. Yes. 

Q And you are holding monej- that belongs either to the 
State or other parties? 

A. Yes. 

Q. That suit is not between ^^gu and these parties? 

A. Not exactl3\ 

Q. You ^Ad jou would pay over the money to the parties 
" if this matter was kept out of Court;" this matter is not in 
Court. 

A. I think it is; what am I indicted for? 

Q. EmbcEzlement; but the matter as to whom this money 
belongs to, is not in Court. 

A. I think that is involved in the question. 

Q. You say that when 3'ou learned that you would probabi}- 
be indicted, you consulted 3^our lawyers, and the}^ advised you 
to make a settlement with the Auditoi ? 

A. Not because I was compelled to; they simply said that 



218 

this land business in the Auditor's office was so much raixed 
up — and from a letter fr€>ni the Auditor, I knovv it was — that 
it \V()uid be difficult to say whom the hind belonged to, and 
they advised me that if I made a complete settlement with the 
Auditor, they did not think that the District Attorney would 
advise the Grand Jury to indict me; Col. Nugent told me tliat 
himself, and Judge Hill, he said that the matter was mixed up. 

Q. Why did you not make 3'our final settlement, as they ad- 
vised? 

A. [ did; I settled for ev'ery tract of land, every piece, at Mr. 
Smith's own figures. 

Q. It is ill proof that deeds, amounting to two thousand dol- 
lars, were made by you, and 3-ou have only produced receipts 
for elevea hundred dollars? 

A. Well, I stated just now, there were but two assessment 
rolls in my office, and you know that land is assessed at differ- 
ent fiiiures in different years. 

Q. Did you say that you made a report of all the money you 
collected? 

A. No; of all the land redeemed. 

Q. It is in testimou}^ that there are deeds for over two thou- 
sand dollars, made by you, and the money collected by you; 
how do you account for the discrepency ? 

A. Allow me to ask you this question? 

Q. I am n')t on the stand; how do you account for that dis- 
crepancy between the amount collected by you, and the amount 
}ou paid into the treasury? 

A. Because the parties redeemed the land from me at a 
higher figure than should have been paid, and the assessment 
roll in the Auditor's office shows that; I made the settlement 
with the Auditor at his own figures; and I wrote to these 
parties in Vicksburg; I was threatened to be sued. 

By the Chairman: 

Q Why was it that you never kept any record of the amount 
you collected, on the land book; you had such a book in 3'our 
:)ffice; wh}- did you not keep the amounts which you collected 
in til at book; there is a column in which 3'ou state the date 
and to whom sold; why was it that you did not keep that book? 

A. It was kept to a certain extent; I had that book made. 

Q. The law requires a book of that kind to be kept ? 

A. I kept it on the book sent to me by the Chancery Clerk ; 
the law required him to give me a list; I kept a list of the 
land that was properly redeemed. 

Q. Did 3'ou not keep a record of the land that was im- 
propeily redeemed ? 

A. No. 

Q. Why did you allow any person to redeem any land when 
3'Ou had an3' doubt ? 

A. I did not have any doubt then ; I did not always record 



219 

it on the same day; and sometimes parties would be redeeming 
the whole tract, and sometimes only a portion. 

Q. You could not allow them to redeem it except in proper 
sub-divisions ? 

A. I think a party would have a right to redeem two acres, 
or one acre, if he wanted to, or five acres, if he wanted to. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. You kept a record, and entered it on your book, when 
ever Mrs. Cardozo was the purchaser of land ? 

A. Yes, sir; those purchases w^ere entered ? 

Q. They were all entered ? 

A. Yes; on the book that was handed to me by the Chan- 
cery Clerk; that new book that you saw in the office, I ordered 
made before seeing the law — the law that requires a certain 
book to be kept. 

Q Did you keep your private record on a book or on a piece 
of paper '? 

A. On a piece of paper. 

Q. Have you got that yet ? 

A. Yes; it was on blanks. 

B}'' the Chairman: 

Q. You may make any additional statement that 3^ou may 
desire. 

A. I believe I have nothing further to state; I don't know 
whether I stated to Mr. Allen that I reported certain lands to 
the Auditor before the affidavits were made against me; here 
is a letter Irom the Auditor that will show that; before these 
affidavits were made, I heard of certain parties who would 
bring this land matter before Court; I told Mr. Gibbs about it 
when I went over from Vicksbnrg, and gave him a memoran- 
dum of these tracts of land that I had in my possession; and 
before any action was had on the affidavits, the Auditor wrote 
this to me. 

Q. That was while you were being tried for the witness cer- 
tificates ? 

A. Yes; I told Mr. iNIusgrove about this matter long before 
any of the troubles came up: and in Judge Cook's letter, he 
actually refuses to receive the money; he said the Board oi 
Supervisors had no right to reduce the assessment; it Mar- 
shall's case there were colored men, who came to me and pro- 
duced their deeds, as having entered the land five or six years 
ago, and the deeds sent to me from the Auditor's office did not 
compare with the Auditor's roll; it was customary whenever 
parties came up to purchase land in the Auditor's office, they 
made a memorandum on the deed, and entered it in the book 
also; in regard to the land purchased by Mrs. Cardozo, I will 
simply say this: The time had expired for the legal owners to 
redeem it; I found out what the land was assessed at, and 
purchased it for her; the assessed value of the land was .|2,700; 



220 

when I came over here to the Auditor's office, I found that 
other parties had owned the hind for some time; I told them, 
I thought this kind belonged to the State; the assessed value 
was S2,700; that seemed very fair, and if I had been satisfied 
that the land belonged to the State, I would willingly have 
paid the two hundred dollars for it; birt when 1 came up here, 
1 found out that other parties had entered it, I settled it and 
paid the taxes on it; but I don't expect to gel an acre of it. 

The Committee here adjourned, subject to the call of the 
chairman. 



EIGHTH DA i^ 

Jackson, Miss., January 9^1875. 

The Committee met at the call of the chairman, a quorum 
being present. 

O. S. LEE, 

Being duly sworn, says: [Examination in chief,'] 

Q. State j^our occupation and position ? 

A. I am Lieutenant Colonel and Aid-de-Camp to Governor 
Ames. 

Q. \Yere 3'ou in Viclisburg on or before the 7th of Decem- 
ber, 1871? 

A. I was tliere on the 5th; arrived on the morning of the 
5th. 

Q. State all you know in regard to the riot or insurrection 
that occurred there on the 7th of December, and all matters 
pertaining thereto, that occurred previousl}^ within your 
knowledge ? 

A. I know of nothing that occurred, of my own knowledge, 
previous to the time we went there. 

Q. You were ordered there by the Governor? 

A. Yes; in connection with the Adjutant General. 

Q. Did you see any riotous or disorderly- persons in Vicks- 
burg? 

A. I will make a statement of it: The Adjutant General and 
myself were ordered to proceed to Vicksburg, and to ascer- 
tain, as near as could be done, the cause that led to the dis- 
turbance with reference to Crosby having been dispossessed of 
his office, and also to keep the Governor advised of anything 
that might transpire; of m\' own knowledge I know nothing 
of the orders given to Adjutant General Packer; we reached 
Vicksburg on Saturday morning: met several citizens there 



221 

during the day; had conversations with them with reference 
to Crosb^^'s being dispossessed of his office; nothing definite 
was done, however, until Sunday morning, when Major Pax- 
ton and Captain Bedford called on us at the St. Nicholas, 
where we v/ere stopping, and had a conference there with us; 
they claimed that they had exhausted all legal remedies; that 
is after going over the grounds with reference to Crosby's 
having been dispossessed of the office; they justified their con- 
duct, and the action of the Tax League with reference to 
forcing Crosby to resign; they claimed that they had ex- 
hausted all legal remedies; it was suggested b}^ us, that so far 
from having exhausted all legal remedies, that they had not 
even attempted the most simple, that was to enjoin Crosby' 
from acting as Sheriff; they claimed that that would meet with 
no success; that Judge Hill, they said, would not grant any 
injunction; we then asked them whether they had made the 
attempt to enjoin him before Judge Hill ? They said they had 
not; I then told them if they failed before Judge Hill that 
even then the}' had not exhausted all the legal remedies, that 
the Justices of the Supreme Court could grant the injunction; 
it was then advised by Gen. Packer, in which he concurred, to 
apply to Judge Hill; they said that they had an injunction 
partly prepared, and it was suggested that the best plan would 
be in case no injunction could be obtained in Vicksburg, to 
send a delegation to Jackson and report that neither Judge 
Brown or Judge Hill would grant an injunction, and sue out 
an injunction before any of the Supreme Judges; but, to go 
back, Judge Brown had come to us and stated that his Court 
had adjourned to meet on Monda}', the seventh, at ten 
o'clock; the object, which we had in view was to so 
arrange things that the Court would not be delayed; 
the matter was adjusted in a manner satisfactory to all of 
them; the suggestion was then, as I said, that they should 
take out this injunction against Crosby, that he should be en 
joined, so that on Monday when the Court met there would be 
no Sheriff to act, and that that would give Judge Brown the 
power to a]>point one pro tern.; the Board of Supervisors was 
to meet on Tuesday; it was understood that Crosby could give 
a new bond, and that was all that they demanded; acting upon 
that suggestion they drew up the necessary affidavits ; they 
then con.'luded to visit Judge Hill in company with Adjutant 
General Packer; I think Mr. Patton, Mr. Paxton, Mr. Bedford 
and Judge Lea went to see Judge Hill, and there the arrange-' 
ment was made, I understand, of the kind we had suggested, 
Judge Hill agreeing to grant the injunction, provided the aflli- 
davits were properly drawn; that was about five o'clock when 
that conference ended, in the evening; about nine o'clock in 
the evening, I left Adjutant General Packer on Washington 
street; he was in a hack, and Crosby was with him; he said 
he had received information that colored men were coming in 
the next morning, and he was endeavoring to prevent them; 
Ia—16 



222 

we went to almost every livery-stable in town to get horses; 
by this time it was eleven o'clock; his object was to g'it horses 
and send men out to notify the parties in the country that the 
matter had been adjusted; we failed to get the horses; we 
then went to a colored church, on Walnut street, just below 
the Market-house; Crosb}^ selected five or six friends there, 
and he gave them instructions to go in the countr3% and if 
they could not get mules, to go on foot, and to notify the col- 
ored peoi)le in the country that the matter had been adjusted; 
we went out, Crosb}', General Packer and myself; they had an 
interview with Ben Allen; I don'l know any thing about that 
interview, I was in the hack: when we got back it was one 
o'clock; I went to bed at the St. Nicholas; General Packer 
came in a few minute: afterward; then between three and four 
o'clocdf, I suppose, I heard the alarm bell ring: I woke up 
Packer and asked him what he thought of it; he said that the 
citizens did not probably all understand the arrangement that 
had been entered into; we did not move out until half past 
seven o'clock; I saw then quite a number of armed men on 
the streets before getting to the Court house; at the Court- 
house we found two companies, at least, and small bodies were 
moving out on the various roads; I saw nothing of the fight- 
ing that took place; I saw some firing from the top cf the 
Court-house, three-quarters of a mile oflf, I suppose; I saw 
some prisoners, among them, one or two were wounded ; 
those prisoners that were taken were put in jail ; I had an in- 
terview or two with Judge Hill and Judge Brown on that day; 
there was no solution that they could offer to the difficulty; I 
saw an attempt made on Monday night to take Crosby out; 
thMt was between sundown and dark; one of the companies 
from the country made the attempt; I heard them say that 
they did not propose to go away without him. 

Q. Whose company was that ? 

A. I am not able to say whether it was Hogan's or Reed's; 
I don't know one from the other; I think it was members of 
Reed's corapau}^; Crosby was taken from these men by order 
of Beaird ; Mr. Pegram executed the order; I heard some 
very bitter remarks made in reference to Pegram, that it was a 
shame to have him taken Irom them, and that they had a good 
mind to take him instead. 

Q. Did they say hang him ? 

A. Tliey did not say " hang him," but I saw ropes, that I 
s"uppose were intended to be used, in the hands of one man 
there; he suggested that he had a rope; there was no further 
disturbance on Monday night; I went to bed; the next day I 
came to the Court house, and saw another attempt to take 
Crosby out; a conference seemed to be held among them; that 
conference lasted some twentj^ minutes, I suppose, and then 
all the drays and carriages were moved from oflf the street, and 
word was given for some one to go across the street and tell 
the women in the houses opposite not to look out; some one 



223 

said that they intended to ^ive Crosbj' a chance for his life; 
two men were on guard at the door, George Barber and Gus. 
Folks; then Beaird, who I presume was in charge, read an 
order of Col. French, to organize the Warren county militia, 
which was commenced immediately, he organizing one or two 
companies then under arms; from that time on it was quiet; 
on Tuesday morning we had another conference with some cit- 
izens; I was present there, Horace Miller, Pratts, McCarthy, 
Capt. Bedford, CoL French, and several others; I don't remem- 
ber now who the others were; I don't kno what the intention 
was, but finally it was decided that Col. Packer should proceed 
to Jackson by special train and interview Governor Ames; 
their object in that was, to a certain extent, to save the life of 
Crosby; it was understood that United States troops had been 
ordered to Vicksburg, and they assured us tliat the moment 
the troops left Jackson, it w^ould be the signal for Crosby's 
death, and not only his death, but others. 

Q. Who made that assertion ? 

A. Horace Miller; in fact all of them expressed themselves 
as being satisfied that the death of Crosby could not be pre- 
vented if troops were sent to Vicksburg. 

Q. That his life would be taken by whom ? 

A. By a mob; Gen. Packer and myself then came to Jackson 
and had an interview with Gov. Ames, and informed him of 
what had taken place; he informed us that no troops had been 
called for that day, but, that as far as entering into any com- 
promise was concerned, with these people, he would not, and 
could not, that they were in open violation of the law of the 
State, and he would have no communication with them; we 
went back to Vicksburg, met Mayor O'Leary, and it was de- 
cided that we were to meet at the Court house the next day; 
we w^ent there the next morning; by the wa}', it was on Tues- 
day that Crosby placed his resignation in the hands of Gen. 
Packer; that was befo'-e we went to Jackson; Horace Miller 
stated to us, that Crosby was anxious to resign; that he had 
had an interview with him, and that he felt that his resignation 
would save his life, and he asked me what I thought of it; I 
told hin that that was Crosby's own option; Miller, I believe, 
said that Crosby was anxious to resign, and had placed his 
resignation at their disposal; Packer then had a private inter- 
view with Crosby; that conversation was held before Crosby 
handed over hisVesignation ; Col. Packer stated to him: "You 
can do just as you choose; if you decide to make it, I will 
take it and present it to the Board of Supervisors; but," he 
said, "I tell you one thing, I believe your life depends upon 
that resignation; 1 believe, if you do not resign, you won't 
live to see the day after to-morrow ;" Crosby then stated to us, 
that he did not want to resign, but, as a matter of course, he 
did not want to lose his life; he did not want to resign, if it 
could be avoided, but if we considered it necessary to save his 
life, he would do so; that resignation was prepared, and placed 



224 

in Packer's hands, and was by him presented to the Board of 
Supervisors the next day, Wednesda\'. 

Q. Was an}' insulting language used towards you, or any 
threats made against you or Col. Packer, while you were in 
Vicksburg? 

A. There was towards me, by one George Cook ; I believe 
he accused me, on Monday morning, of being connected with 
Crosby in this office, and stated that he believed that Packer 
and I had both broken faith, and that instead of trying to keep 
the negroes away, we were instrumental in bringing them in; 
that it was a combination between Crosby and me; he after- 
wards retracted it, however. 

Q. Did he make any threat? 

A. No. 

Q. Did he use any violent language? 

A. No, sir; on Monday night, Col. Furlong and Beaird said 
— Furlong first — that they wished I and Col. Packer would 
remain in our rooms at the St. Nicholas; I told them that as 
far as Packer was concerned, he was at Judge Hill's house; 
they said that our lives were in danger, that there were quite 
a number of white men in from the countr}^, and there might 
be some demonstration made against us; that the feeling was 
very bitter, and as they were personal friends of ours, they 
wanted to know where to find us; they said that they would 
take all steps in their power to prevent any injurj^ being done 
to us; on Wednesday, Beaird came to us and said, that the 
feeling was very bitter against Packer, that it had been quieted 
the night before, but that in an interview with a reporter of 
the Times, Packer had made a statement which reflected 
against what they pretended to be, the Warren county militia, 
and that the feeling was strong against him on that account. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. Did you go to Vicksburg for the purpose of preserving 
the peace, or to take sides with either side ? 

A. To preserve the peace. 

Q. Do you think that 3'ou understood the state of aff'airs in 
Vicksburg, on the 5th of December ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. I want to read to you from the Governor's proclamation 
of the 5th of December. Do you believe the first "whereas" 
to be true ? 

A. I do. 

Q. Is the second " whereas " true, and if so, what county 
oflScials were they ? 

A. I don't know those that did not leave; I understand it 
was Davenport and Wilson. 

Q. Tliat second " whereas " is true then ? 

A. Yes, sir; I am satisfied of that. 

Q. Now, the third " whereas " — what Court was in session at 
that time ? 



225 

A. The Circuit Court. 

Q. Is the third "whereas" true ? 

A. Most assuredly, the Court was paral3'zed. 

Q. What paralyzed it ? 

A. I was not there to see that; I understood that the}^ had 
refused to allow the bailiff to enter and open Court. 

Q. Was the Sheriff interfered with? 

A. He had been compelled to sign his resignation. 

Q. Is the fourth " whereas " true ? 

A. That is true, to the best of my information. 

Q. Do 3^ou know any white official in the county that was 
requested to resign? 

A. No. 

Q. Do you know of any demonstration having been made 
against any white citizens ? 

A. I do not. 

Q. Is the fifth "whereas" of the Governor's proclamation 
true ? 

A. That I will not be prepared to st\y. 

Q. You think then that riotous and disorderlv persons did 
combine together for the purpose of compelling dul}- elected 
officials to resign ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And caused others to flee for their lives ? 

A. I do ; I am satisfied from what I have heard, and I am 
satisfied that it would have caused Crosby's death if he had 
refused to resign; Mr. Paxto-n, himself, said: "There is no 
doubt but what Crosb}^ would have been sacrificed if he had 
refused to resign." 

Q. You have read the proclamation issued on the 5th of 
December by Gov. Ames ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you think that the state of affairs in Vicksburg on 
that day justified the issuance of that proclamation? 

A. I do, sir. 

Q. Were there any portion of the tax-payers of Vicksburg 
opposed to the proceedings of the 2d of December? 

A. I heard some regret it; I heard Major Hunt regret it. 

Q. Were the}'^ a small minority ? 

A. They were a very small minority — very small. 

Q. How man}' persons were confined to the jail on the 7th 
of December ? 

A. I should judge twent3''-five or thirty; I saw two squads. 

Q. Do you know whether they were arrested on warrants or 
not ? 

A. I should suppose they were not. 

Q. Were any of them white men ? 

A. No, sir; I saw no white men among them. 

Q. How many colored men do you think were killed on the 
Toh of December in Warren county, from the best information 
you have ? 



226 

A. I have always estimated the number at not less than a 
hundred. 

Q. How man}" of the Tax Leaguers were killed ? 

A. I understand one was killed on Monday. 

Q. Are you sure thai he was a Tax Leaguer ? 

A. No; he was a white man, thougli. 

Q. How many colored men were wounded, and how many 
white men ? 

A. I saw but two colored men that were wounded. 

Q. Where did the fighting occur — in Vicksburg or beyond 
the city limits ? 

A. It was supposed to have occurred part inside of the 
limits and part outside ; I am not sulliciently acquainted with 
the limits of the city to know how far the corporation extends ; 
most of those killed on the Jackson road, I understand, were 
killed outside of the city limits. 

Q. How many white men do you think were under arms on 
the 7th of December, 1874, in Vicksburg ? 

A. I should judge from five to six hundred. 

Q. Do you think that Gen. Ames would have been safe in 
going to Vicksburg on the 5th, 6th or 7th of December ? 

A. I do not. 

Q. What would have been the result ? 

A. I think he would have lost his life on the 7th. 

Q. Do you think it would have been safe, considering the 
excitement on the 5th and 6th, for him to have been in Vicks- 
burg on the 6th or 7th of December ? 

A. I don't know that any personal violence would have been 
offered to him on the 5th ; I think his presence would have 
done more harm than good. 

Q. Do you think, then, that it was his dutj", under the cir- 
cumstances, to have gone there? 

A. No. 

Q. Do you think that it would have been proper for him to 
have gone there? 

A. I do not; it would have been eminently improper. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. How manj" men do 3"0u know were killed inside of the 
city limits ? 

A. I don't know any, I did not see them. 

Q. How many horses and mules do you think were captured 
b}' these parties, from colored men? 

A. It is impossible to tell what horses were captured; when- 
ever a horse was captured, he was taken charge of by some 
men. 

Q. You don't know of any houses, that wei'e plundered in 
Vicksburg? 

A. No. 



227 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. You are Lieutenant Colonel and Aid-de-Camp? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Was your business in Vicksburg, on the 5th and 6th of 
December, by ordef of the Governor ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. It was in your official capacit}^ that you were in Vioks- 
buro- ? 

A. Yes, entirely. 

Q. What instructions did you have? 

A. I had none, myself; I don't know what the Adjutant 
General had. 

Q. You don't know what was the object of your visit? 

A. No; I understood that the Adjutant General had instruc: 
tions. 

Q. What did you understand that you were going there for? 

A. To preserve the peace, if it could be done, and to ascertain 
the best mode of doing so; I understood that the Adjutant 
General haa power, if he thought necessar}^ to call out the 
militia; he was sent there with discretionary powers. 

Q. When did you go there? 

A. On the morning of the 5th. 

Q. Wliat time did you get there ? 

A. Al)out half- past ten, or eleven; it was before twelve. 

Q. Were you there, generally about, on the 5th and 6th? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did you receive from the citizens of Vicksburg, any in- 
dignity, on Saturday ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did Packer? 

A. Not that I am aware of. 

Q. Did you see anything from which you had a right to be 
lieve that you were unsafe ? 

A. On Saturdav? No, sir 

Q. You felt no apprehension for j^our personal safety? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did you see any armed citizens, on Saturday? 

A. No, sir ; no arms that were visible. 

Q. You have answered that these " whereases," in the Gov- 
ernor's proclamation of the 5th, are true; I would like to call 
your attention to the first "whereas;" now, 3'ou say that 3'ou 
did not see an}' person in arms, and this says that the\' com- 
bined with force and arms ? 

A. They dispossessed tlie Sheriff by force and arms. 

Q. Do you know that to be true ? 

A. From information, yes. 

Q. You don't know, then, whether it is true or not, of your 
own knowledge ? 

A. No; 1 was not there, and did not see it done; I know 
from what the citizens said; they tokl me so; of course, I do 
not know it personally, because I was not there. 



228 

Q. The question I asked you was, Avhether the}'' were armed 
or not, and had combined together with force and arms? 

A. That I believe tliej^ did. 

Q. But you were not there ? 

A. No. 

Q. Then you don't know ? 

A. Of course, not of my own knowledge. 

Q. Then the second " whereas," you said, was true; did j'ou 
Bee any armed bodies of men ? 

A. No. 

Q. Then you don't know whether that is true or not ? 

A. No; except from the best information I have. 

Q. Now the third " whereas " — did 3^uu see any unlawful as- 
semblage on or before the 5th of December, 1874 ? 

A. No. 

Q. Then you don't know whether that " whereas " is true ? 

A. Only what I believe. 

Q. No\v the fifth " whereas " — is that true ? 

A. I did not say that it was; I simply said that I was not 
prepared to say. 

Q. Do you not think, having been in Vicksburg on Satur- 
day, the 5th of December, that if Governor Ames had gone 
there in his official capacit}^ as Governor, and had called a 
meeting of citizens, white and black, and had said to that 
meeting: "Gentlemen, you have complained of wrongs, I am 
here as Governorof the State, under my oath, to see that the laws 
of the State are faithl'ull}^ executed; state your grievances, 
and I will have the matter fullj- and fairly investigated; if your 
officials have been corrupt or incompetent, I will have them 
removed;" don't you think that that would have satisfied the 
people ? 

A. No. 

Q. What do 3^ou think would have satisfied them ? 

A. I don't think that they would have been satisfied with 
anything short of the resignation of Crosby. 

Q. Don't you think the Governor would have been safe in 
Vicksburg ? 

A. I don't think that any personal violence w^ould have been 
off"ered to him. 

Q. Do you think any insults would have been offered to him? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were any offered to 3'ou ? 

A. They were not offered to me; but I am a very different 
person from Governor Ames; I have a great many friends in 
Vicksburg. 

Q. None were offered to Packer ? 

A. No. 

Q. Wh}', then, should they have been offered to Governor 
Ames? 

A. I think the feeling would have been much greater against 
the Governor than against Packer. 



229 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Was it not the newspapers that caused that feeling 
against the Governor ? 

A. I think they were responsible to a great extent. 

By Mr. Allen : 

Q. Don't you think that the appointment of Dorsey as Cir- 
cuit Clerk had something to do with creating that feeling ? 

A. Very little. 

Q. What was your means of estimating the number of killed 
on the 7th of December? 

A. From reports I heard the white citizens bringing in, 

Q. You did not see an}- of those killed ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you think that it would have been^safe to have al- 
lowed that large crowd of armed negroes to have come into 
the city of Vicksburg? 

A. I believe it would have been perfectly safe if the pro- 
gramme of the night previous had been carried out, and 
Crosby consented to the injunction; I think he stated to the 
colored people that he had made this arrangement. 

Q. How many colored people were marching on Vicksburg 
on the 7th of December, 1874? 

A. The only information I have is from white peple ; I 
should say, if the reports be true, that the number on the va- 
rious roads would amount to, about eight hundred; I have no 
means of ascertaining, except as I told you. 

Q. White people are generally as reliable as colored people, 
are the}^ not? 

A. 1 presume they are. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. State how many colored men you saw that day in arms? 

A. I did not see one. 

Q. How man}^ white men did 3^ou see in arms? 

A. As I stated, I should estimate the number between five 
and six hundred. 

The Committee adjourned, subject to the call of the chair- 
man. 



NINTH DAY. 

Jackson, Miss., January 12, 1875. 

The Committee met at the call of the chairman; a quorum 
being present. 



230 

A. T. MORGAN, 

Sheriff of Yazoo count}', being duly sworn, sa3''s: [Fxami- 
n a t ion in c h ief. ] 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. State what you know about the taking awa^' of A. M. 
Mack, a Justice of the Peace of Warren count}^ from 3'our 
jail, in Yazoo county? 

A. Very soon after the disturbances in Vicksburg, 'Squire 
Harris, of Beat No. 1, which is the Beat adjoining Warren 
C()unt3% brought to me, as prisoner, A. C. INIack, who was 
charged before him with the killing of William Vaughn, at 
Snyder's Bluff, or near that place; the magistrate infoinied me 
that he had been arrested upon the complaint of IMajor Chil- 
dress, a citizen residing in his beat, and near the Wan-en. 
county line; he committed him to my jail, making out the 
commitment in the form as required by the statute; I asked 
the magistrate if iMack had had his trial; he said that he 
had not, that the feeling was such when he held his court, and 
there was so much excitement there, that he had deemed it 
best to postpone the trial, and commit Mack to jail; three or 
four days subsequently a man by the name of Patterson, in 
company with one ITogan — Captain Hogan — c'ame to me, 

bringing with them a warrant from Mann, a Justice of the 

Peace in Vicksburg, requiring me to turn over to them the 
body of 'Squire Mack; the}' had stopped at 'Squire Harris' 
ofKce to procure his indorsement on the warrant, whirh had 
been done; fearing that violence would be done to Mack if he 
was released, I called for m}^ attorney in Yazoo City, and ad- 
vised with him, to know whether or not it w^as my duty 
to obey the writ from the magistrate in Vicksburg at 
once; if I had any discretion in the matter, or if I could 
delay turning over to the Constables from Warren county, 
the prisoner, Mack, whom I had in charge at thf jail ; 
my counsel examined the writ, pronounced it to be in 
due form, and as required by the statute in such cases, 
and advised me that I would be held liable t^.s having 
violated my duty, if I were to refuse to turn th"? prisoner over 
to the Constables of Warren county promptl}^; I saw the Con- 
stable, Mr. Patterson, and also Mr. Hogan, and told them what 
I feared; I knew something of the condition of affairs in War- 
ren county, and my county joins Warren county; I live upon 
the Yazoo river, which empties into the Mississippi just above 
Vicksburg; I asked them what they thought about it ; the}' 
both pledged me their honor as men, that if I would turn 
Mack over to them, that he should not be harmcii, that they 
would see him delivered hiirmless to the Court in Vicksburg; 
they repeatedly arssured me of that; I took them to the jail, to 
the cell where Mack was, and they talked to him, I there and 
then asked Mack if he had any reluctance to go with them ; 



231 

he wanted to know what he was charged with ; I read the war- 
rant to him, or told him of it; he denied that he had killed 
Vaughn or any one else, and denied that he was in the fight at 
Snyder's Bluff, and said that he would have no difficulty in 
proving his entire innocence, and that he was not afraid to go 
with them; then in a conversation which I had with him, out 
of hearing of them, he told me that Mr. Patterson was one of 
his sureties on his official bond as magistrate, that he had 
lived as a neighbor of Mr. Patterson for a number of years, 
that he had great confidence in him, and felt sure that when 
Mr. Patterson told him that he would be delivered safely to 
the Court in Vicksburg, he would apprehend no danger; I 
then left Mack with these gentlemen; they asked me if it 
would be necessary to place any additional restrictions or 
guards for Mack; I told them that he would certainly be there 
in the morning, when they would call for him; in the morning, 
about eight o'clock, they came for him; they said that they 
were o-oing to take him to Vicksburg on a boat, that there was 
a great deal of excitement in Warren county, and it was pos- 
sible that they might be overpowered, if any violence was to 
be attempted, and, therefore, they were going by boat; but 
they did not go by boat; they went by land; just before leav- 
ing me, I heard them ask Mack where his horse was; Mack 
tofd them that he had left his horse with the magistrate who 
came with him; they asked him if he would turn over his 
horse to them; Mack told them that he would; that is all that 
I know of my personal knowledge of the matter. 

Q. You have heard since that Mack was killed ? 

A. I have a letter from the magistrate of that beat, in which 
he says that Mack was killed, and his body lay there for 
several days, without burial. 

Q. That was the Justice of the Peace in whose beat he was 
killed ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. He was killed, then, in your county ? 

A. So that magistrate informed me; near the Warren county 
line; he asked me whether he should go and hold an inquest 
on the body that was lying unburied there Cor several '-lays; I 
replied that it would* be his duty, I thought, to hold the in- 
quest. 

Q. Do you know whether he was killed on the main road, or 

oflr the road? 

A. I don't know personally, but it was near the Warren 
county line, and back from the river; I will state, in addition 
to what I have said in regard to their taking him from Ynzoo, 
that I suggested to Mack that if he would go before a magis- 
trate, in Yazoo city, and make affidavit that his life would be 
in danger, that I would take the responsibility of delaying, or 
send a sufficient guard with him; but he assured me that he 
had no fear, that he knew both tlie gentlemen, Ilogan and 



232 

Patterson; otherwise I should have sent a sufficient guard with 
hiro to protect him. 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. Did the letter you received from the committing magis- 
trate state anything in regard to the time when Mack was 
killed ? 

A. It was while he was on his way to Vicksburg; the magis- 
trate informed me that they had brought him to his place, and 
that he had turned over his horse to the Constable. 

Q. Have you that letter with you ? 

A. No; I don't believe I have; I had no idea that I would 
be summoned; no, sir, I have not got it with me; I think I 
could produce it, however; I will add what Mack told me, if it 
is testimony: He told me — and part of his statement was made 
in the presence of Patterson and Hogan, both — he said, that 
some White Leaguers had been scouring that portion of the 
county, and taking away the arms of the colored people for a 
day or two— I don't recollect how long he said— and that he 
was President of a Republican club of that place, that they 
were hiding in the woods, and that some of them had got 
together for the purpose of protecting themselves; they saw 
Shannon's company coming down the road— this is what Mack 
said to me— they savv this company coming down the road, and 
two or three of them stood out in the road; they were then 
two or three miles from the place of the funeral; then some of 
the White Leaguers, three or four, rode out to where they 
were, and wanted to know what they were doing there; they 
told them; then they ordered these colored men to give up 
their arms; they would not do it; they were fired on, and then 
they commenced firing at this little squad ot three or four; 
the funeral was two or three miles from there. 

Q. Was Mr. Vaughn there when that firing took place? 

A. Vaughn, he said, was in this advanced squad wdio rode in 
advance of the white cora[)any, and demanded their arms, and 
fired upon them because they would not give up their arms; 
and then the colored men fired back; after that the whole 
company charged down the road and fired, and then the 
colored men ran into the woods; that was Mack's statement, 

C. E. FURLONG, 

Being duly sworn, says: [Examination in chief. ^ 

Q. Where were ^''ou on the 7th of December, 1874? 

A. In Vicksburg, Warren county, Miss. 

Q. State what you know about the riot or insurrection there 
on that day. 

A. Bet'A-een three and four o'clock, on the morning of the 
7th of December, I heard the fire bells ring; I got up and 
looked out of the window; I thought there was a fire; after 



233 

making further inquiries, I learned that tliere were colored 
men approaching town in large bodies; I went back, but got 
up an hour or two afterwards, dressed mj'self, and went to 
breakfast at the restaurant; M. D. Lanier, a resident of the 
county, came to me in the dining room, where I was taking my 
breakfast, and said to me; " Colonel, the colored people are 
coming in town in large numbers, I wish you would come out 
with me and see if we cannot succeed in turning them back; " 
I remarked, at the time: "It is scarcelj' possible that they 
could be so foolish as to attempt to come in here; however, 
when I get through with my breakfast, I will go with you;" 
after breakfast I went down to my office, and had a conversa- 
tion for a few moments with Judge Morris; I then went up to 
Mr. Bender's stable and got a horse, and proceeded out Grove 
street with Mr. Lanier, to a point beyond Miget's house, on 
the Grove street road, which is, I think, a quarter of a mile 
from the Court-house; I went on some distance further, and 
Mr. Lanier stopped, and remarked, that he did not care about 
going out an}^ further, tiiat it looked like there was going to 
be a fight; he did not go any further, but I did; I rode on 
some distance further, and came up with a body of armed 
white men under the command of Horace Miller, as I subse- 
quently learned; I had a few moments conversation with Mr. 
Miller; he told me that there was a large bod^' of colored men 
coming in on that road, and that he was endeavoring to get 
them to return, but he did not know with what degree of suc- 
cess ; I rode on, with his cooimand, some distance, perhaps 
two or three hundred yards, until 1 arrived at a point on the 
Grove street road, this side of the residence of Ben Allen, and 
quite close to a grocery store, kept by a man named Murphy; 
when I reached that point, I looked down a ravine immediately 
in my front, and saw quite a number of colored men, from 
two to four hundred; I saw some of them with arms, though 
I do not think that they were all armed; I did not think that 
it was prudent to go an}- further; there was some bitter feeling 
manifested towards me, and I did not deem it prudent to go 
any further ; I then raised myself up in the stirrups and 
beckoned to a man, who I subsequently found out ^vas in com- 
mand of the colored men, Andrew Owens, a man whom I have 
known ten or twelve 3'ears as a hard-working, industrious and 
sober fellow ; I never knew an3^thing wrong of him ; a few 
moments after I arrived at that point, there were several men 
rode up, horsemen, among them, Ackerman, Doherty and some 
more whose names I don^t recollect now; a few moments after 
they got up, some person to the right of me fired; I do not 
know who it was; I afterwards understood that there were some 
white cavalrymen off to the right, a quarter of a mile; there 
were two shots fired, and after that a volley came from the 
direction where Owens' men were; I was not in a condition for 
a fight; I had nothing except a revolver, that I generally car- 
ried, but was in no condition to go into a fight; so after two 



234 

volleys, I think, were fired, I retreated back a little distance 
and met the advance guard of Horace Miller's command ; they 
came up a tew moments afterwards, and fired; not more than 
ten minutes elapsed until I saw Andrew Owens, and ten or 
fifteen of his men, coming along with a guard; I went and ap- 
proached Owens, and said to him: "I am astonished to see a 
man of your sense in this phice, knowing that the white men 
were prepared for everything of this kind;" he tohl me that he 
had been ordered in there, but that he had been deceived ;" I 
remarked to iiim, "that ma}^ be true, and you have shown a 
great deal of pluck here, but acted very foolish;" I then came 
in with Owens as far as the county jail, where the prisoners 
were j)laced ; I told Owens that my sym[)athies were with him, 
and I would do everything I could to protect him, for I ad- 
mired liis i)luck, but lie had certainly acted foolish; he told me 
that he liad been deceived, that when he came to town he ex- 
pectetl to find quite a number of other coh)red men to help 
him; I asked him then, if he had expected any assistance from 
the colored men in town? he said yes, they vvere to be joined 
by P. C. Hall's company; [ told him: '-lam sorry for you ; 
these men here are wild and reckless, but I think ^^tiiey 
are a good deal like myself, they admire a brave man ; 
and I don't think you will be disturbed;" he was 
then taken into the jail ; I then ascertained that there was 
a little skirmish out on the Cherry street road; I rode out 
there, and found a number of colored men retreating, there, 
about a mile from the Court house; I came back, and rode out 
toward the Pemberton monument; they said that there was a 
fight out there; during all that time, there was a good deal of 
excitement, and various rumors were afloat about armed bodies 
of colored men coming in ; I ascertained that there were five 
or six hundred coming in from the neighborhood of Newtown, 
but through the influence of some one, they were turned back; 
there were some, however, that came up the Warrenton road 
to within two or three miles of Vicksburg; and there was a 
dilficulty about the Ship Island railroad, and there was one 
wiiite man killed there, I heard; then, during the night, there 
was a good deal of excitement in town; I did not," however, 
apprehend any more difficultly, believing that these colored men 
had no leaders; but in order to prevent any further bloodshed, 
I went, the next morning, out on the Warrenton roud, Avith 
Thornton Montgomery, to stop a large body of colored men, 
whom we heard were coming in on that road. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. What is your politics ? 

A. Republican, as I understand the National Republican 
part^-. 

Q. Who did you vote for, at the last election, for Governor? 

A. Alcorn. 



235 

Q. Have you affiliated with the Republican party, for the 
last year or two? 

A. That depends altogether upon what you consider the Re- 
publican part}-; I consider that Alcorn and McKee, and several 
otiiers that I could name, represent the true principles of the 
Republican party; there are different opinions, however; you 
think, perhaps, that Governor Ames is at the head of the Re- 
publican party; there are two wings of the party ; I belong to 
the Alcorn wing of the party. 

Q. Do 3'ou belong to any White League company, in Vicks- 
burg? 

A. No. 

Q. Do you know of any armed organizations existing in 
Vicksburg? 

A. No. 

Q. You know of no armed organizations there, at all ? 

A. Onh' the militia. 

Q. Do you know of any armed organization outside of the 
militia ? 

A. None that I know of ; there are two companies, one is 
Crump's, but he is dead, now — and one commanded by Colonel. 
French. 

Q. You spoke of a company under command of Horac 
Miller? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How was that company organized? 

A. I have no idea. 

Q Have you never heard of Colonel Beaird having a com- 
pany there? 

A. No; he never had any, that I know of. 

Q. Have you never seen armed companies, or squads, patrol- 
ing the streets, during last summer ? 

A. Yes; several times I have seen the colored militia, in June 
and July. 

Q. You have not seen an}' colored militia companies on the 
streets since July ? 

A. No; I think not. 

Q. Have you seen any white companies on the streets of 
Vicksburg ? 

A. Sometime in July, I think, there was a colored man 
killed by Mr. Hazlet; at that time the feeling ran pretty high, 
and up to that time the white men had not turned out; the 
colored militia had been out frequentlv, under command of P. 
C. Hall, and had drilled frequentl}', in a lot on Cherry street; 
at that time I went to Daveni)ort and several others, and told 
them that I thought it imprudent, in peaceable times, to go 
out on the streets with arms, and that I would advise them not 
to ik) an> drilling on the sidewalks, that it might provoke a 
bad feeling, and showed a bad spirit; then when this man was 
killed by Hazlet — and I believe it was a justifiable homicide — 



236 • 

there came out a compan}^ of white men to protect Hazlet, and 
after that I did not see any colored militia on the streets. 

Q. Have you never seen any other companies of white men 
on the streets ? 

A. No organized companies; I have seen plenty of men un- 
der arms. 

Q. Do you know of large quantities of arms having been 
received in Vicksburg within the last six or seven months — 
guns and Winchester rifles ? 

A. Not of my own knowledge. 

Q. What do you know, personal}}', or otherwise, in reference 
to it ? 

A. Personally, I know nothing of it ; I have heard it rumored 
that they have received some. 

Q. Have 3^ou never heard the statement made in conversa- 
tion with citizens of Vicksburg, that they had received such 
arms ? 

A. No; I had not got that far along with those gentlemen; 
I presume, though, that they did receive some arms; I did not 
receive any; I have only my breech-loading shot-gun; I think 
they got some arms, and I don't think that you can blame 
them for it under the circumstances ; things looked squally. 

Q. Have you ever heard the statement made by any one that 
the Democratic or Conservative party was bound to carry the 
county of Warren at the ensuing election, and that the}' would 
carry it one wa}^ or another ? 

A. No, sir; I don't believe I have. 

Q. Have you never heard that assertion made ? 

A. No; I don't think they would say any such thing; I 
don't believe that they have any desire to kill anybody or hurt 
anybod}-; they would hurt themselves by it, hurt business, 
mercantile pursuits and the making of crops. 

By Mr. Cessor! 

Q. You said 3'ou heard the bells ringing between two and 
three o'clock in the mornins: ? 

A. Between three and four, I think I said. 

Q. Did you not know of something of this kind before ? 

A. I had heard a great many rumors, but I thought the col- 
ored people had too much sense to try an^'thing of that kind. 

Q. Were you not satisfied that there was something of that 
kind going on ? 

A. Not personally; as I said before, I thought the colored 
men had too much sense to attempt to come in. 

Q. You had a pretty good influence with the colored men ? 

A. Yes; I have been living in the county ten or twelve 
years. 

Q. Don't you think that you could have stopped a great deal 
of this bloodshed, if you had exerted yourself and gone out 
in the country ? 

A. If r had had the proper authority from the Governor as 



237 

Brigadier General of militia, I could have stopped it, but not 
as a private citizen. 

Q. Did you not sign yourself as Brigadier General, or as an 
officer, while Packer was over there ? 

A. Yes; I have my commission yet. 

Q. Then 3'ou are General Furlong? 

A. I reckon ; I don't know how that is; that is a matter for 
the Governor to decide. 

Q. You stated that you rode out in front of a command on 
Grove street ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. In front of an armed body of men ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did you shoot at anybody on that day ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did you have a gun on that day ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did 3'Ou have a pistol ? 

A. I did not draw any pistol; I had one. 

Q. You stated also that you heard somebody fire ? 

A. Yes; to mj^ right. 

Q. Was that firing in the white men's companj^ ? 

A. I cannot tell; there was a ravine to my right, there was 
white cavalry to my right, and there were colored men to my 
right; I know I left after the first volley; I had nothing to 
shoot with. 

Q. You told Owens that he ought to have had better sense 
than to have come in town when he knew that the white people 
were so well armed ? 

A. I told him, I did not think he could have got in town, 
that the white people were better disciplined, and that they 
h,ad better guns. 

Q. That goes to prove that you knew something of their 
organization ? 

A. No; they were always fixed; Southern people are always 
armed; I have known that for the last ten or twelve 3'ears; 
Southern people are alwa^^s armed; I believe you cannot go 
into any Southern man's house without finding that he is 
armed; and, I think, that is true with regard to the colored 
people too. 

Q. Did you see any colored men with arms on that day ? 

A. Yes; quite a number. 

Q. Did you see any of them fire ? 

A. No; I cannot swear to that, but I saw the fire come from 
the direction where they were. 

Q. You saw none killed by colored men ? 

A. Not on the Grove street road; on the other road I saw 

where Brown was shot from the Shirley house, where the fight 

was; that was later in the day ; the Grove street fight was first, 

then the Pemberton monument fight, and while ihose men 

In— 17 



238 

were out on the Pemberton Monument road, this man Brown 
was sliot at the Shirley house. 

Q. You said that you adv^ised the colored men not to drill on 
the sU'eets in Vicksburg? 

A. Tliat was in Jul}-; I told them, in a friendl}'' way, that if 
I was in their place, I would noi drill on the streets. 

Q. Did you not see white people drilling on the streets ? 

A. Not then: they had arras, but were not drilling; I saw 
them with arms afterwards, but I never saw them drill; I 
thought then tiiat it was in a bad spirit for Hall to drill on the 
streets. 

Q. You have a Winchester rifle ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Are you aware of anybody having been killed after the 
fight ? 

A. No, sir; I don't know of am body. 

Q. Were there armed bodies of men patrolling the country 
after the fight ? 

A. Not that I know of; I have heard that some went out to 
protect the houses of citizens ; I heard rumors that colored 
men were going to burn houses, and of two. or three squads of 
citizens going out; Shannon's company, I think, went to Oak 
Ridge, and I heard from Stith that they did not meet any 
colored men, and had no trouble at all. 

Q. Do 3^ou say that you consider Alcorn as representing the 
Republican party of this State? 

A. Yes, sir; I think his speech on the civil rights bill ought 
to satisfy you . 

Q, VVas not Alcorn defeated by the regular Republican party 
at the last State election ? 

A. I decline to answer that question. 

Q. Don't you think that this insurrection and the troubles 
in Vicksburg iiave grown out of politics? 

A. Most emphatically, no; I have no hesitation in answer- 
ing th.'tt question. 

Q. Have 3'ou not yourself met, in the city of Vicksburg, op- 
position to your politics when you were Sheriff? 

A. Of course; there are always two sides to politics. 

Q. Did not the majorit}" of the Democrats support Alcorn 
at the recent election ? 

A. 1 decline to answer that question. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. VVhila yoi5 were Sheriff of Warren county were you not 
only ostracised, but insulted and abused, and were you not 
struck by a mob 

A. I decline to answer. 

Q. And hit on the head with a brick on Washington street? 

A. 1 decline answering the question. 

Q. Do you believe that if the colored people had gone in 



239 

town on that day, that they would have attempted any vio- 
lence against the people of the town ? 

A. From my conversation with Andrew Owens I am inclined 
to think they 'expected a fight; he said they expected trouble; 
I am a friend of Owens, and I regret very much that any blood 

was shed. 

Q. Don't vou think that there was a great deal of unneces- 
sary bloodshed on that day, and a great number of colored 
men killed, that there was no necessity for ? 

A. I don't know anything about that; in mobs it is very hard 
to control the mob; a" leader of a mob to-day may be the vic- 
tim to-morrow. 

Q. You said thev were disciplined ? 

A. No; I didn't'say anything of the kind; I have nothing 
in the world against the colored politicians. 

By Mr. Allen: 

'Q. You say that Andrew Owens told you that he had orders 
to come to Vicksburg ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did he say who gave him the orders to come? 

A. Yes; Crosb3% the Sheriff'. 

Q. Did he say for what purpose he was ordered there? 

A. Yes; to reinstate Crosby. 

Q. If there was an insurrection in Warren county on Mon- 
day, the 7th of December, 1874, who were the insurrection- 
ists? , 

A. In my opinion the colored men in command, who ap- 
proached the town of Vicksburg. 

Q. Don't you believe, from what you know as a citizen of 
Vicksburg. that the citizens armed themselves only for defen- 
sive purposes? 

A. Solely for defensive purposes; they did not apprehend 

trouble. 

Q. Were you in Vicksburg on Saturday, the oth of Decem- 
ber ? 

A. No, sir; I was here in Jackson; I had a conversation 
here with O. S. Lee; he showed me his commission as Lieu- 
tenant Colonel, and he told me that that commission meant 
gunpowder; I said to him. " Y^ou and I have been soldiers 
together at Vicksburg " 

Q. When did you go to Vickburg? 

A. I went there on Sunday morning (the 6th) I believe; it 
was on Friday evening when I had that interview with O. S. 
Lee and Packer, here in Jackson, and I went to Vicksburg on 
Sunday morning; they went on Saturday. 

Q Do you believe that on Saturday, the day when the Gov- 
erner issued his proclamation, if Governor Ames had gone to 
Vicksburg in person, that he would have received any insult 
or personal violence? 



240 

A. No; on the contrary, I think he could have settled this 
whole trouble. 

Q. Do you think, if he had gone there and called a meeting 
of citizens, white and black, in his official capacity as Gov- 
ernor of the State, that he could have settled this trouble? 

A. Without a particle of difficulty; there is no animosity 
personally to Governor Ames; his administration may be ob- 
jected to, but personally he is just as safe there as you and I. 

Q. Were you in the Federal army during the war? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were you there up to the surrender? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were you an officer in the Federal army? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You have been a Republican since the surrender and up 
to this time? 

A. Yes; I cast my first vote after the surrender. 

Q. You have continued to vote with the Republican party 
up to the last State election? 

A. Yes. 

By Mr. Gill: 

"Q. In case there was an insurrection in Vicksburg on the 2d 
of December, 1874, who were the insurrectionists ? 

A. If there was a mob therCj then I could answer; but, inas- 
much as there was no insurrection, I can give you no answer; 
there was no insurrection. 

Q. What do^'ou call the crowd of citizens that went to the 
Court house? 

A. As far as that crowd is concerned, I know very little 
about it; I was in mj^ office all that day; after dinner, some 
gentlemen sent for me — Beaird, I believe — I went up there, and 
called Judge Cowan aside and said to him: " Judge, I don't 
like the feature of things here; I am afraid 3'ou are acting 
wrong; it looks like treason to me." 

Q. You say there was no insurrection in Vicksburg on the 
2d of December ? 

A. There was not. 

Q. You don't call it insurrection when a mob demands the 
resignation of the officials of a count}*? 

A. No; 1 don't call that insurrection; it is not insurrection 
in its true sense. 

Q. I would like to know what you call it, then? 

A. On that day, I looked upon it as a crowd of citizens, who 
had been oppressed, and their rights trampled upon; I thought 
the action of the Board of Supervisors had been such as to 
give good ground for an oppressed and outraged people to take 
the law in their hands, or, that they had arrived at that point 
whcic forbearance ceased to be a virtue. 

Q. You think they had sufficient ground to get up an insur- 
rection or a mob ? 



241 

A. There was no insurrection, and no mob, there; but I had 
no sympathy with their movement ; I believe in exhausting all 
legal remedies; but then, the Board of Supervisors had failed 
to meet, and I don't blame the people for getting mad and out 
of patience. 

Q. You answered so readil}^ that the colored people were in 
insurrection on the 7th of December, and j-et you don't think 
there was a mob on the 2d of December ? 

A. None that I know of, from personal knowledge; and 
whether they are colored or white people, is nothing to me; I 
have just as much respect for the honest, hard-working colored 
men of Warren county, as I have ever had; I am no enemy to 
that race; I am their friend as far as I can go reasonably; but, 
as a man and a citizen of Vicksburg, I think the people of 
Vicksburg were justified in their course; I went to the front, 
on that da3% and I will cheerfully say, that I would have fought, 
had I been prepared; I went out to try to turn those colored 
men back, but, if it was necessary to fight, I went out there to 
fight. 

By Mr. Sullivan : 

Q, You don't think it was necessary to fight, then? 

A. Yes; but I was in no condition to fight; I had only a 
pistol. 

B}'^ Mr. Cessor: 

Q. Were those colored men there on that da}^ the same men 
that elected 3'ou Sheriff of that county? 

A. I decline to answer that question. 

By Mr. Sullivan : 

Q. Were you not abused as much through the public press 
of Vicksburg, and were not as many or more charges made 
against you by the Democratic papers, while you were Sheriflf, 
as against Crosby? 

A. I decline to answer that question. 

Q. Are you not bitterly opposed, politically and personally, 
toward Governor Ames? 

A. I decline to answer that, most emphatically. 

B}^ Mr. Cessor: 

Q. You stated that you were in favor of exhausting all legal 
means; Is it y^our opinion that all legal means had been ex 
hausted by the citizens of Vicksburg? 

A. No, I think not; I am free to say that; but the truth is, 
the Board of Supervisors refused to act, and you could not get 
at the legal remedy, because they refused to act. 

Q. What is your definition of the word insurrection ? 

A. Witness refers the gentleman to Webster's Dictionar3^ 

Q. Do you or not know the correct difinition of the word in- 
surrection ? 



242 

A. I respectfully refer the gentleman to Webster's Dietionar}' 
The Committee adjourned subject to the call of the Chair 
man. 



TENTH DAY. 

Jackson, Miss., Januar}' 13, 1875. 

The Committee met at the call of the Chairman, a quorum 
being present. 

J. A. CASSEL, 

Being duly sworn, says: ^Examination in chief. 1 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. ^lake a statement of what transpired in connection with 
the Vicksburg troubles, on the 7th of December, 1874, from 
your own knowledge. 

A. On Sunday, the 6th of December, I attended a colored 
church, for which I keep the books; they had some business 
to transact at the church; I transact all their business, for 
which they pay me; at the close of the church, thej^ handed me 
a card, and also the Governor's message, and requested me 
to read them to the audience; I read them ; then they re- 
quested me to give them my opinion; I told them that I 
thought there was no danger for them to go to town as peace- 
able citizens, and no one could object to their going to town ; 
those who went from my section of country went to town un- 
armed; I saw but one man with arms on the following da}', 
the 7th, and him I called to my house, and persuaded him to 
leave his gun ; I told him that he did the onl}- thing that would 
get him in trouble, and get him killed; he left his gun, and 
came back in about two hours and got his gun and went home; 
that was on the morning of the 7th of December ; then, when 
I went to the school-house, which is about three miles and a 
half from my house, there I found but five scholars, and owing 
to the confusion caused by men going back and forth, I dis- 
missed them at once, and left for home, thinking that my 
famil}^ would be disturbed; I went across on an opposite hill, 
perhaps Ijalf a mile from my school-house, when I saw some 
white men charge down that road by n\y school-house, jtnd 
shooting; there were four of them; I do not know whether 
they hit anyboch' at that time or not; I went home; in the 
evening, a little before sundown, I just got out of my house 
and had a lamp in my hand to go to the store, which is but a 
short distance off; just as I got out of the house a squad of 



243 

cavalry came up, all armed with guns and pistols; I did not 
count "them; I judged there were fifteen to eighteen ; one of 
my neiiihhors, who says he counted them, told me that there 
were twenty six; when I saw them, of course by that time 
they saw me, and I did not retreat; I went and faced them; I 
went about ten steps, and they halted me in the stre«>t; they 
never accused me of having done anything, or of having had 
anything to do with any riot; the first question that one of 
them asked me— I know his name, but I do not desire to give 

it— 

Q. Why do you desire not to give his name ? 
A. My 'family is there, and I intend to go back there, and 
my life has been threatened by those parties, ^nd I desire to 
make my testimony as brief as lean; the first question he 
asked was: "What is your name?" I said : " My name is 
Cassel, sir;" he then said: "Oh, yes, we know you; you are 
this Radical son of a bitch that makes speeches around the 
country; we are soingto take you down here and hang you up 
on a tree; move on;" I did not move; I looked at him; then 
another said: " No, damn you, I'll shoot you down right liere;" 
and he raised his gun right at my head; by that time a third 
one attempted to get down oft* his horse, and said: " You seem 
to take it so cool, I'll get down and shoot you ;" as he attempted 
to get down from his horse I looked over the crowd, and recog- 
nized Judge Cowan, Warren Cowan, whom I knew; I simply 
spoke to him and said: "Good evening, Judge;" he nodded 
his head to me, and then he told his people: "Hold on;" he 
then asked me whether I knew who had circulated those cards 
and the Governor's proclamation; the Governor's proclama- 
tion was iss-ied in an extra; I answered him, and then he gave 
orders for his squad to move forward; they told me then: 
"You will be gone from here by Friday evening, if you know 
what is good for yourself;" one or two of them said that; I 
did not go away; I went about my business until Thursday 
morning; in the meantime, I saw one of my neighbors; he 
asked me liow I felt when they had their guns at my head— 
whether I did not feel afraid; I told him that I did not, that I 
onlv felt ashamed, for fear that it might be thrown up to my 
children that their father was killed by a coward; then he 
asked me whether I was going to leave; I told him that I did 
not consider the order official, unless it came from the com- 
manding officer of the squad; then on Thursday morning, 
another'squad came from toward Vicksburg, and another squad 
from i)elow ; each squad contained about fourteen or fifteen 
men, perhaps; one of them stopped and called me out and 
said: "I understand that you do not consider the order we 
gave you the other day as ^official; I want you to understand 
that it is, and if you are not away from here by to morrow, 
3'OU are a dead man;" that was on Thursday, and then I left; 
that is as far as I was connected with it; in the meantime, I 
have ascertained the number that were killed; in the neighbor- 



244 

hood of my school there were three of the patrons of my school 
killed, one of my scholars was killed, and one escaped that was 
wounded — all at their houses; I did not see that, but know 
that the}^ are dead. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Have 3'ou seen armed bodies of white men riding through 
the country at various times ? 

A. Oh, yes; every day. 

Q. Armed and in companies? 

A. Armed and in companies. 

Q. What were they usually termed; do you know anything 
about what their purposes were ? 

A. Their purposes I asked them ; they told me that their 
purposes were to protect their families ; they have one armed 
company almost in front of my door. 

Q. Were the}' all White Leaguers ? 

A. Yes; they were White Leaguers; they are organized as 
Captain Batchelor's company . 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. What is your occupation ? 

A. I am a school teacher. 

Q. What kind of a school do you teach ? 

A. A colored school. 

Q. How long have you lived in Warren county? 

A. About six 3'ears. 

Q. Where did you come from ? 

A. From Pennsylvania. 

Q. What kind of business did you follow there ? 

A. I taught school in Penns^-lvania. 

Q. What kind of a school did you teach in Pennsylvania ? 

A. T taught a white school, or rather a common school; be- 
sides teaching school, 1 am also keeping post-office. 

Q. At what place ? 

A. At Mount Albon, Warren county. 

Q. How far is that from Vicksurg? 

A. That is by the road about seven miles. 

Q. How far is it from where you live to where you keep 
school? 

A. Three miles and a half, about. 

Q. When you are at school who keeps the post-office ? 

A. I deputize one to keep it. 

Q. Who is 3'our deputy? 

A. A man named Bugg attends to it when I am not there. 

Q. Is he white or colored ? 

A. He is a white man; sometimes my wife attends to the 
post-office. 

Q. You say that you are Secretary of a colored church? 

A. I keep their books for them, and have done so for the 
last five years — do all their writing. 



245 

Q. Were you at that colored church on Sunday the 6th of 

December ? 

A. I was. , ^ , , 1 

Q. I understood you to say that you read Crosby s proclama- 

A. 1 read the Governor's proclamation and Crosby s card. 

Q. What object did vou have in reading them ? 

A None whatever; I read them simply because they handed 
them to me, and I do all their writing, and all their reading 
for them, and they pay me for it. 

Q. They pay you for it ? n i, i 

A. Yes; they pay me two dollars a month for all the worK 
they have me to do on Sundays. 

Q. You do that work on Sundays ? 

A. Yes ; when they have any business. 

Q. Is it customary to read political documents on Sundays 
in the country ? 

A. I don't know about their custom. 

Q. You have been there four years ? 

A. You mean that church ? Whenever they have anything 
to be read, I read it out at church. 

Q. You read political documents on Sunday? 

A. I do not kr;ow whether they regarded them as political 
documents or not. 

Q. But is it your custom to read political documents on 

Sunday at church ? t.. i 

A. i never saw \hem, or knew of their reading any political 

documents at that church. 

Q. Did they not ask you to read these documents? 

A. They handed me'the papers and asked me to read them. 

Q. Which did you read first, the Governor's proclamation or 

Crosby's card ? -r i • i t wu 

A. 1 am not quite positive as to that ; I think i read tHe 

Governor's proclamation first. ^ 

Q. Did I understand you to say that to Governors procla- 
mation was issued in an "extra?" 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do you know how it came to that place (Mount Albon)? 

A. I do not ; I know it was handed to me by one of the 
members of the church; they had a little bus ness to do, and, 
after I had done the writing, they asked me to road these 

papers. 

Q. What comments did you make upon those two docu- 
ments ? , , , 1 . i. 

A. They wanted me to state wdiether they should go to town 
or not ; I'told them that the law did not prohibit them from 
going to town peaceably, but that they should not go in arms. 

Q. This proclamation don't say anything about going to 

town ? 

A. It did not, and it did not say anything about staying 



246 

awiiy, and hence, I told them that there was no law to prevent 
their goina: there peaceably. 

Q. How came 3^011 to say anything about going to town, 
when the Governor's proclamation and Crosby's card don't say 
anything about it? 

A. Because I heard them suggest that they were going to 
town. 

Q. When did they say they were going? 

A. On the following da}^ 

Q Did they propose to go to town in a body? 

A. I do not know how they proposed to go; the}^ did not go 
in a body. 

Q. You said that none of the people went from there with 
arms ? 

A. I saw but one. 

Q. Who was he? 

A. A man by the name of Williams, and he came as far as 
ray house; I called him and asked: "Where are j'ou goin^: ?" 
he said, "to town;" says I, "What are you going to do with 
your gun?'' he said, "I'll take it along;" I said, "you had 
bettor not." 

Q. How came you to advise him to leave his gun at home, 
3-0U knowing nothing of the trouble? 

A. Because — 

Q. Have you been in the habit of advising the people there 
whether to go armed or not? 

A. I advised them to obey the law. 

Q. How came 3^ou to advise them then on this particular 
day ? 

A. Because there were different ones who spoke of danger. 

Q. What sort of danger did they speak of? 

A. There was one man there, who lives on the Brabston 
place, who said that he wanted to know what was the matter; 
he sai<i he had spoken to Thomas Brabston, and he had said 
that they were going to town, and that they were going to kill 
every negi'o that went to town; that was the reason that it came 
up, to know whether they should take arms along to protect 
themsidves. 

Q. The}' said that they wanted to know whether to take arms 
alon^ to pi'otict th^niselv !S, or no/? 

A. Yes; that was spoken out publicly; they said that Brab- 
ston had said that the}^ the White Leaguers, would kill tho 
negroes if they did not stay away; and that was the reason 
why the question of guns came up. 

Q. What impression did the proclamations 3'ou read seem to 
make upon the colored men? 

A. The general impression was, in fact, m}' impression was — 

Q. I don't care anything about 3'our impression. 

A. Their general impression was, that Crosby desired to 
tall upon them as a pobue; that was the prevailing impression. 



247 

Q. What iippression did the Governor's proclamation seem 
to make on them ? 

A. It seemed to give the impression that Crosby was right 
in doing so. 

Q. That he had the approval of the Governor ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How man}" children have you ? 

A. Three. 

Q. Roys or girls ? 

A. Two girls and one boy. 

Q. How old are thej^ ? 

A. My boy is about six weeks old; my wife was confined at 
the time. 

Q. You say you did not feel afraid when they talked of kill- 
ing you? 

A. I don't know; I cannot tell 3'ou exactly how I did feel. 

Q. Tell us as near as you can. 

A. I cannot tell you how I felt. 

Q. Didn't you feel frightened ? 

A. At the time, yes, sir ; I did. 
, Q. Y'ou felt that 3'Ou would be killed ? 

A. I didn't know; I don't believe anything until it is actually 
demonstrated to me. 

Q. Was it 3'our impression that you would or would not be 
killed ? 

A. From the threats and the number of guns, it looked very 
much like it. 

Q. What occurred in ^'our mind about the time these guns 
were pointed at you ? what did you think ? 

A. I will tell 3^ou what I thougiit; I thought if only God 
would set down twent3^-six men of m3' old regiment with guns 
in their hands. 

Q. That is what vou thought? 

A. That is v/hat I thought. 

Q. What was 3'our regiment? 

A. The 57th Pennsylvania. 
, Q.. Were 3'Ou in the war ? 

A. I was. 

Q. How long did you serve? 

A. Three years, six da3's less. 

Q. How long did 3'ou have to think about 3'our old regi- 
ment ? • 

A. I suppose they kept me there about fifteen minutes. 

Q. With their guns pointed at 3'ou ? 

A. Not all the time. 

Q. How long was it that the guns were })ointed at you ? 

A. I don't know the exact length of time. 

Q. Who art; your principal associates in that neighborhood, 
white or col ; red ? 

A. My associates are of both colors ; in fact, I have but ver}' 
few associates. 



248 

Q. Who are your sympathies with, the colored or the white 
people ? 

A. I make no distinction. 

Q. You have no sympathies for either ? 

A. Oh, yes; my sympathies are with both, in that respect. 

Q. Between the colored and white, who are your sympathies 
with? 

A. I did not look in their faces; there might have been col- 
ored people among them. 

Q. In this crowd that stopped you? 

A. I don't know; I didn't see; perhaps I did not see tliem 
if the}^ were there; I did not see all that were there; as far as 
my sympathies are concerned, they don't run in that way, 
either with the colored or the whites ; my sympathies run with 
right, and m\' condemnation is of wrong. 

Q. What did you -know about right and wrong, as between 
these colored men and the white men ? 

A. Because, I have alwa3^s thought murder and manslaugh- 
ter was wrong. 

Q. Didn't you believe, when j^ou read this vindictive and de- 
nunciatory proclamation of Crosby, that you were exciting bad 
feeling between the white and colored people? 

A. I did not; I didn't know that it was vindictive. 

Q. You did not know what the proclamation contained? 

A. Not before I read it there. 

Q. If you had known it before you read it there, would you 
have read it at all ? 

A. That I cannot tell. 

Q. Was it denunciatory of the white people? 

A. It was not; I don't think so. 

Q. Was it not denunciatory of the Democrats? 

A. I am not positive whether the word Democracy was used 
in it. 

Q. Was it not denunciatory of the white people of Vicks- 
burg? 

A. I don't think it made any sweeping assertions; I am 
quite positive; I handed it back to them, and never saw it 
since; I don't think it makes any sweeping assertions. 

Q. How is it that you remember so particularly ever3'thing 
on the other side, and nothing on this side? 

A. Those are things that I have read; but what I might have 
thought, or might not have thought, that, of course, I cannot 
tell ; if I had had nothing of greater importance to think 
about afterward, then I might. 

Q. rU read some of it to 3'ou : "Citizens, shall we submit 
to such violent and lawless infringements on our rights? No! 
Let us with united strength oppose this common enemy;" who 
did you understand that common enemy to be ? 

A. That common enem^^ I understood to be whoever might 
attempt o oppose him. 

Q. I will read a little further: "Who, by all the base subter* 



249 

fuges known to political tricksters, and the audacious mendac- 
ity of heartless barbarians, are trying to ruin the prospects 
and tarnish the reputation of every Republican;" who did you 
understand to be meant by heartless barbarians, etc. ? 

A. I understood those who set themselves at defiance to the 
authorities. 

Q. The party of "political tricksters;" j^ou did not under- 
stand that to mesin party f 

A. No; it is not to be presumed that all men in a part}* are 
tricksters; I know that there were a good many in that party 
who I know did not take up arms any way, and who did not 
have arms. 

Q. You say that some in this white company said they were 
White Leaguers? 

A. Yes. 

Q. They said that themselves? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. How did 3^ou know then that they were White Leaguers? 

A. I will tell you how I know: Because there was a commit- 
tee appointed to wait on me and another gentleman, and the 
President of the White League told me that there were only 
two white men in the beat that did not belong to the White 
League. 

Q. Who is the President of the White League there ? 

A. A man named Newman. 

Q. Was he Captain of a company? 

A. No: but he was in it. 

Q. How do you know that he is President of a White 
League ? 

A. Because I have seen his name in print as such. 

Q. In print — on what kind of a document ? 

A. I saw a card printed, calling a meeting, in the Vicks- 
burger, with his name to it, and in fact, he solicited me to join it. 

Q. You say, they told you that they were arming for the pro- 
tection of their families ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. What do you know about the Loyal League in your sec- 
tion of country? 

A- Now? 

Q. Did you ever belong to the Loyal League ? 

A. Yes, sir; I did; but that was before I came here, 

Q. You never belonged to any Loj-al League in Warren 
county ? 

A. No ; after I came here I have seen no secretorganization, 

Q. Have j^ou not belonged to any club ? 

A. Yes; a Republican club ? 

Q. What was the object of that club ? 

A. To keep up the organization of the Republican party; 
their meetings were public. 

Q. Did the members take any oath ? 

A. No. 



250 

Q. And gave no pledges ? 

A. No — no pledges. 

Q. How does a man become a member of a Re[)iiblican 
club? 

A. When he is known to be a Republican, and by signing 
the Constitution and By-Laws — whatever that may be. 

Q. What is that Constitution and By-Laws ? 

A. They are different in ditferent clubs. 

Q. What is it in your club out there ? 

A. I have not a copy of it with me. 

Q. What are the obligations of the members of the club ? 

A. There are no obligations. 

Q. What are the requirements in order to become a member 
of a Republican club ? 

A. In fact, there are no particular requirements that I can 
recollect. 

Q. Have you not a Constitution and By-Laws ? 

A. We did have. 

Q. Don't they require anything of the members? 

A. They are simply for the purpose of keeping up the or- 
ganization of the Republican party, and calling meetings aiid 
discuss matters that may from time to time come up. 

Q. You are a member of that club ? 

A. It is not in existence now. 

Q. You don't know what the requirement* of the Constitu- 
tion and B^^'-Laws were ? 

A. That was about the substance of it. 

Q. What? 

A. Simply for the purpose of keeping up the organization/ 
of the partv, and whenever anything of importance occurred 
in the political affairs, to call meetings and discuss matters. 

Q. Was not a member of that club required to vote the Re- 
publican ticket ? 

A. It was supposed that he should, but there was nothing 
compulsory about it; but if he did not, he was not supposed 
to be a member. 

Q. He was turned out, if he did not do it ? 

A. I don't know what would have been done; we never had 
an instance of that kind. 

Q. They always voted the ticket? 

A. Yes. 

By the Caldwell: 

Q. When you called your Republican Club together, was it 
not public for everybody? 

A. We had but one meeting, and that was shortly after the 
Vicksburg election; we called that meeting together, and I 
made it my particular business to invit all of my neighbors of 
the opposite party, because. I told them that I had something 
to tell them; and I will here state, in addition, what that some- 
tJiing was: There were rumors of a riot, before the Vicksburg 



251 

election; the}' had held a meeting onlj a short distance from 
my house, and had appointed me a committee to go down to a 
place called Hickory Tree; they wanted me to go and make a 
speech to the colored people there; they said, " \ou know them 
all down there; the}' will listen to yon, but the}' will not listen 
to us; and tell them not to goto Vicksburg, and to keep quiet, 
and all that sort of thing;" I told Mr. Lanier, who was chair 
man of the committee, who came to my house: ''Mr. Lanier, 
I shall do no such thing; what3^our feelings are I do not know; 
but I do know what the feelings of the Republicans are; 
their motto is 'peace'; and whenever there is peace to be ad- 
vocated, count me in, alwa3'S ; and I know those men are for 
peace, if let alone; now, I will tell you wbat 1 will do: If you 
Democrats will come there, too, then I will come down there 
and make a speech; I have something to tell you;'"' they came 
dov»ii there; 1 went down there, and made a speech; we ap- 
pointed a committee of six — three white men and three colored 
men; and that committee adopted resolutions condemning all 
disturbances, and condemning all men who would incite dit>tur- 
bances; they drew up the resolutions strong, and had tliem 
published; two' members of this committee went in town to 
have then, published; the next day, one came out, about two 
o'clock, at the store; he had a Henry rifle in his hand at the 
time, and he said to me, " I tell you, we issued five hundred 
copies of these resolutions, to day, and if there is any distur- 
bance now, you are the first man we will go for." 

Q. That was one of the committee? 

A. That was one of the committee on those resolutions; 
then, the next da}', J told all those colored people, "you stay 
at home, and if you have any cotton to hoe, hoe it;" and about 
the time when the election went on, I heard that Mr. Cobb 
came over there; and the same day the resolutions were passed, 
they were cutting a road through the cane, for Mr. Cobb; the 
colored people came up to me, and wanted to know what was 
the matter; that is just exactly the affairs as tliey stood; and 
that was the time when they came back, and when the election 
of Vicksburg was over; then I called the meeting at Mount 
Albon, and invited all my poll ical opponents to be present, 
because I was going to make a speech myself, and I had some- 
thing to tell them; 1 don't know what impression they have 
formed of my speech; that cavalry told me that it was incen- 
diary ; 1 thought it was the truth, and everyone that was there 
knows that I advised peace for everybody. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. What is the proportion of white people and colored peo- 
ple in your neighborhood ? 

A. Well, now, we have a precinct right there ; we poll from 
two hundred to two hundred and fifty votes, and about thirty 
ot them whites; I suppose, when they all come out, there are 
about forty or forty -five white voters. 



252 

Q. And when they all come out, how man}'' colored voters 
are there ? 

A. There may be two hundred and seventj'-five colored 
voters. 

WASHINGTON CHAVIS, 

Being duly sworn, says: [Examination in chief.] 

By the Chairman: 

Q State what you know about the insurrection in Warren 
county, on the 7th of December, 1874. 

A. I don't know very much about it; I saw none of the 
difficulty; I saw armed men on that day; I was in town Mon- 
day morning. 

Q. Were they white or colored men you saw with arms ? 

A. Both kind; I was in Vicksburg Monday morning my- 
self, on the 7th of December; I went out to see mj^ son on 
business ; I saw a great many men armed on that day; some 
of the country people that didn't know me, searched me, and 
they told me that the best thing I could do wa§ to go home. 

Q. Who said that ? 

A. Some of these countr}^ people. 

Q. Were they white or colored ? 

A. White people; Mr. Hogan's company and Reed's com- 
pany; I know prett}^ nearly all |the men in both companies; I 
then got on a horse and went home; I met some of the colored 
people coming in, seventy or eighty, or may be a hundred; I 
turned them back, and they went home. 

Q. Which road did you go out on from Vicksburg ? 

A. Up the valley, on the Yazoo Valley road, up the Missis- 
sippi, and up the Yazoo, right in the bottom all the way. 

Q. You know nothing about the troubles in Vicksburg, then, 
on that day ? 

A. No, sin 

By Mr. Gill: 

. Q. What conversation occurred between you and Hogan in 
reference to the troubles ? 

A. That was on Wednesday after that; I was down at Mr. 
Hogan's house, where both of these companies were; they 
rode around there from Tuesday, when they came out there to 
bury Olive Brown, Mr. Snyder's son in-law; and the difficulty, 
you heard of there, was all that he told me about; he told me 
about the circumstances that happened there at Snyder's; you 
know they had a collision there between the colored and the 
whites. 

Q. State what that conversation was between you and 
Hogan. . 

A. I was along there, and I know the very difference [dis- 
tance] from the house to the place where Mr. Fosset'a 



253 

horse was crippled, where they had the collision; his horse 
broke his thigh, and was right on the ground wliere he 
fell; I suppose it was about two hundred and fifty or three 
hundred yards from the house to where the road turn.i ; we 
were talking about Vaughn being killed; he lived right on the 
place witli Mr. Hogan, where Mr. Hogau lives, about a quarter 
or a half a mile from my house, and we have both been living 
there for the last four j^ears; I asked Mr. Hogan how that diffi- 
culty happened; he said it was accidentally' done; he said he 
saw the negroes at the turn of the road, over there about old 
Green's house — an old fellow named Green — and lie told the 
boys of his company not to pursue them; but his brothers, 
and Mr. Fosset, and Vauglin, and Charley Hamilton, got on 
their horses and galloped up that way, and charged on the 
negroes; and when the}^ got there Mr. Hogan said he heard 
the tiring; he told me that he could not tell who fired fii'St, but 
there was firing between them; Vaughn was seriously wounded, 
and Fosset's horse was shot, and some of the mules of the 
negroes were shot; the white men ran one way, and the colored 
people the other, and the colored people never got back ; 
that was about two hundred anU fifty or three hundred j'ards 
from Snyder's house, where the corpse was; I suppose they 
had just started out of the house with the corpse; this is just 
what Mr. Hogan told me when I was down at his house. 

By Mr. Caldwell: 

Q. You stated that j^ou saw a good many men of both colors 
with guns; did you see any colored men in town with guns ? 

A. No; not in town; I saw on that day both kinds, colored 
and white, with arms, but I saw no armed colored men in town. 

The Committee adjourned, subject to the call of the chair 
man. 



ELEVENTH DAY. 

Jackson, Miss., January 14, 1875. 

The Committee met at the call of the chairman; a quorum 
being present. 

A. G. PACKER, 

Being dulV' sworn, sa3''s: [Examination in chief. \ 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q, Did you go to Vicksburg by order of the Governor, 
sometime in December last ? 
la— IS 



254 

A. Yes; on the 5th of December, 1874. 

Q. S:ate your motive and reasons forgoing there ? 

A. I was sent there by the Governor, with instructions to 
exajninc and report the situation there, and if necessary, to call 
out the militia to reinstate Crosby as Sheriff. 

Q. What was the condition of affairs in Vicksburg when 
you got there? 

A. When I arrived, I found that Crosby was there in the 
ciU', but he did not have possession of the office; I went and 
consulted with Judge Brown and Judge Hill; they advised 
against calling .out the militia; and in consultation with 
Crosl)y, on Sunday, he said that he could give a new bond; 
that seemed to be an arrival of a solution of the difficulties 
there; I was interviewed by several members of the White 
League, and that seemed to be their only objection, on account 
of Crosby's bond being insufficient as Tax Collector; Sunday 
evening, just after sunset, word was brought to me b^' Col. 
Paxton and Harper Hunt, that Crosby had sent his card out 
through the country- in ever}^ direction, telling men to come to 
the city on Monda^^; I did pot see Crosb}' till after seven 
o'clock; I met him at Judge Hill's; Col. Paxton, Mr. Pittman 
and Harper Hunt made the same statement there, that Paxton 
and Hunt had made to me on the street that evening; they 
charged Crosby with summoning the men, but they did rot 
ask him to give any answer or to commit himself; I asked 
Crosby' why he did this, and told him that it must be stopped, 
*■ and if he would get the men, I would try to get the horses, so 
as to have men go into the country and stop the colored men 
from coming in: we then left Judge Hill's, and I carried Crosby 
in a hack down to the colored church, and left him there, and 
went to two livery stables to see whether I could get horses; I 
found that I could not get any; I then asked the hack driver, 
if there was any other place to get horses; he said, "No;" I 
then went back to the church, and met five colored men that 
Crosby had selected, and 1 told them to go out in the country 
and pick up horses and mules or anything to ride, and to go 
and stop these men from coming in; then, on Monday, just 
after I hid had my breakfast, the alarm was sounded, and the 
whole city was out in arms; the fight commenced about half- 
past eight o'clock, out on Grove street. 

Q. Did you see an3^thing of the fight? 

A. I saw it from the top of the Court-house; I saw the fir- 
ing; I liad a field glass; Richardson had it. 

Q. Was it a powerful one ? 

A. Not very; I could make out very distinctly objects two 
mili'S off; I have seen better ones. 

Q. What was your reason for asking Crosby to send out men 
in the country to prevent the entrance of those men Crosby 
had called upon as a posse? Was it l)ecause you thought his 
action was illegal, or was it because you thought that it would 
cause bloodshed ? 



i 



255 

A. Because I thought it would cause bloodshed and a riot; 
Col. Paxton and Harper Hunt so informed rae. 

Q. Who informed 3^ou that they were summoned to come in? 

A. I was informed by Col. Paxton and Harper Hunt that 
they were comino" in; they met me just after sunset; it was 
too dark to read the letter that Col. Paxton had, and whirh he 
pu"'ed out to read; I told him that it was too dark for me to 
read, and he then told me that there were seventeen men 
riding all over the count}', summoning the men for CrosV»y. 

Q. Were any threats made to you while you were in Vicks- 
burg ? 

A. None in m}'- presence. 

Q. Was any violent language used against you ? 

A. Not to me; I understood through other parties that they 
had made threats against me and Lee, and also against Judge 
Hill and Judge Brown. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. When aid you go to Vicksbnrg? 

A. On Saturday, the 5th of December. 

Q. What time did you leave Jackson ? 

A. At 7 o'clock, on the morning train. 

Q. By whose order did you go ? 

A. Bv order of Gov. Ames. 

Q. W^hat instructions did you have from the Governor ? 

A. To look over the situation there, and, if necessary, to 
call out the militia to reinstate Crosby in his office, or to re- 
gain possession of his office. 

Q. Is there any organized militia in the State? 

A. There is no militia in the State now; there are some old 
organizations, but they are not in the militia now. 

Q. If there was no militia, how did 3'ou expect to call out the 
militia ? 

A. At that time I was in the militia. 

Q But there was no militia to call out ? 

A. There were some old origan izations. 

Q. How did the Governor expect you to call out the militia 
when you sa}^ there was no militia? 

A. I could have organized the militia in the field; during 
the Austin affair I was going up there to organize the militia. 

Q. Wbat were 3'ou to call out the militia for in Vicksburg ? 

A. To put Crosby in possession of his ofllce. 

Q. That was 3'our instruction from the Governor ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Had Crosby tendered his resignation at that time? 

A. Yes, he had ; let us see ? I believe it was on the 2d of 
December he tendered it. 

Q. Was the Governor aware of that fact that Crosbj^ had 
tendered his resignation ? 

A. I suppose he was; Crosby was over here on the 3rd and 
4th of December. 



256 

Q. He- had been over here between the time he tendered his 
resignation and the time you received your orders ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And he had been in consultation with the Governor? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were you present at that consultation between Crosby 
and the Governor ? 

A. I was not. 

Q. When the Governor gave yon his instructions, did he 
state to you what instructions he had given to Crosby, or if he 
had given any instructions to Crosby? 

A. He sent a dispatch to Crosb}^ through me, on Friday; I 
have a copy of the dispatch that was sent on Friday — or Satur- 
day. 

Q. Did the Governor state to you what instructions he had 
given to Crosby in that conversation lie and Crosby had here 
in Jackson, on the 3(] or 4th of December? 

A. No, sir, 

Q. You got to Vicksburg about what time ? 

A. About ten o'clock, on the 5th of December. 

Q. Were you then pretty generally on the streets during 
the balance of that day? 

A. Yes; I went directly from the depot to Judge Hill, then 
to Judge Brown, and then I came down town, on Washington 
street; I talked with several parties on that street, and tlien I 
went back up town again, and came down about four or half- 
past four o'clock. 

Q. You said that 3'Ou had a conversation with some of the 
tax- payers, and that their only objection to Crosby seemed to 
be the insufficiency of his bond? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you hear anybody say on that daj^ that they wanted 
him removed because he was a colored man? 

A. That da}'? no, sir. 

Q. The only objection you heard then, was not against Crosby, 
but afiainst the insufficiency of his bond? 

A. That was all. 

Q. Did you see any armed bodies of men in Vicksburg on 
Satuiday, the 5th? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did the city seem to be quiet and peaceable? 

A. It seemed to be quiet on Saturday and Sunday. 

Q. You say that you instructed C-osby to send out parties 
to stop those colored men he had ordered to town? 

A. Yes; I gave him the Instructions myself. 

Q. For the reason that you thought it would create a riot if 
they were to come? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Would you think that the people of Vicksburg were en- 
gaged in acts of riot if they were to arm themselves to prevent 
a large body of armed men, who were incited by the proclama- 



257 

tion of Crosby, from coming into town; or, would 3^011 call 
people who collected under arms to prevent such a large body 
of armed men f'om coming in town, rioters — would you think 
the}^ were rioters? 

A. That is a question that I am not able to answer. 

Q. Which party would you believe to be the rioters, the ones 
marching into the the city, incited b}^ the proclamation issued 
by Crosby, or the people who armed themselves to prevent 
their entrance ? 

A. I should think that the people who put out the legally 
elected officials and held possession of the offices were the 
rioters. 

Q. Do you think that they ought to have surrendered the 
town to that body of men marching into it? 

A. Their being rioters, I don't know but what they ought to 
have surrendered the town. 

Q Did those people arm themselves in the city of Vicks- 
burg on that morning with a view to creating or getting up a 
riot, in your judgment? 

A. On Monday morning, no, sir; I don't think so. 

Q. In your judgment, did the people not arm themselves on 
Monday morning, the 7th of December, and collect together 
because they believed it vvas necessary for the defense of the 
city ? 

A. Yes; I believe they did. 

Q. Then, thati being true, do you believe those people were 
rioters on that day ? 

A. They had been rioters before. 

Q. But do you believe they were rioters on that day? 

A. I don't know that there had been any transition between 
those times. 

Q. Do you believe, on that day, under the circumstances 
you have stated, that those people were rioters? you said you 
believed that the}^ assembled under apprehension of an inva- 
sion of the cit}' by armed bodies of colored people; now, do 
you believe that those people of Vicksburg were rioters? 

A. I don't know whether they could be called rioters or not, 
under the circumstances. 

Q. What would you consider them to be — would you con- 
sider them rioters? 

A. I don't know as I would. 

Q. Now, what evidence have you that the people of Vicks- 
burg had been engaged in a riot on any previous occasion — do 
you know that they had been? 

A. From Crosby's statement of being ejected from office. 

Q. Then 3'i)ur judgment is based on Crosby's statement? 

A. Crosby's and other officers — Davenport's. 

Q. Did you ask any of the tax-pa\^ers about the circum- 
stances attending Crosby's resignation? 

A. N), sir; I don't know as I asked them that question; I 
don't recollect asking it. 



258 

Q. Then you never sought any information on that subject, 
except through Crosbj^ Davenport and other officials of the 
county V 

A. No; not on that particular question. 

Q. Then you ba^e your judgement as to that riot before the 
7th of December on the report you received through Crush}-, 
Davenport, and who else? 

A. A member of the Board of Supervisors — Hunt, I think. 

Q. And they were all parties interested? 

A. No; Hunt was a member of the Board of Supervisors. 

Q. And Crosby was Sheriff? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And Davenport was Chancer}^ Clerk ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And he had been requested to resign also? 

A. Well, I won't be certain of that; Crosby had been re- 
quested to resign; I don't know whether Davenport had or 
not. 

Q. Being there in Vicksburg, did you not meet other parties 
whose statements you would have accepted as readily as those 
of Crosby and Davenport? 

A. I don't know whether I would have given them any more 
credit. ' 

Q. Would you not have given their statements as much 
credit as those of Crosby and Davenport? 

A. Yes; there were some people there that I i?iight believe, 

Q. Is it not possible that tliere w^ere parties in Vicksburg 
that were not interested, and who could have given moie im- 
partial statements than Crosby and Davenport ? 

A. I did not me(t any of those parties. 

Q. You don't think that you met any parties who had as 
little interest as Crosby and Davenport in that matter; don't 
you think that they had more interest in it than the citizens 
generally ? 

A. Yes. 

Q Don't you think that there were plenty of people there 
not interested, who could have given more impartial statements 
than Crosby or Davenport? Has not a man's interest a ten- 
dency to bias his statements ? 

A. I think it has. 

Q. Yet your information seems to have been derived alone 
from these interested parties, wdien you had means of informa- 
tion that would have been more impartial ? 

A. It was either one side or the other. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Did you not have convei'sations with others while in 
Vicksburg ? 

A. Not on that particular point; I don't know that I talked 
to anybody about Crosby's resignation. 



259 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. You admit, then, that although you were on the streets 
of Vicksburg, and although you had been sent there to pre- 
serve the peace, and ascertain the true state of aftairs, that 
you never made any inquiry concerning Crosby's resignation, 
except what information you got through Crosby ? 

A. I took the circumstances attending his resignation from 
his own statement. 

Q. And that you regarded as true? 

A. Yes; I don't know that I had any talk with anj^bod}'- in 
Vicksbury about it. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Did you not read the reports in the Vickshurger and the 
Herald of Crosby's resignation ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Don't you regard the Vickshuryer and the Herald to have 
been the organs of the so-called taxpayers ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. So you had both sides of the question, Crosby's state- 
ment and the statements of the newspapers, that represented 
the tax- payers ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And 3^ou saw dispatches in regard to it before j-ou went 
over to Vicksburg ? 

A. Yes. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. Then you correct your statement that your information 
was derived alone from Crosby and Davenport ? 

A. Yes; from them and the Vicksbuig papers. 

Q. Which ones of the Virksburg papers? 

A. The Vickshurger ?LX\d^ the Herald. 

Q. Did 3^ou not see an}^ other Vicksburg paper? 

A. No. 

Q. Did you not see the Times? 

A. No; not with that report in. 

Q. Or the Plain Dealer? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Did you see anything in the Vickshurger or the Herald^ 
by which it appeared that they were authoiized to represent 
the tax-payers, and make a statement for them ? 

A. 1 saw an account in the Vickshurger. 

Q. Was it got up hy authority of the tax payers? 

A.. I forget how it was headed; it was signed by a good 
many of the tax payers. 

Q. WMiat was the contents of that report ? 

A. I don't know; it was a column and a half or two columns, 
a statement of their side of the question; I think I have a 
copy of that. 

Q. You can say what you learned from that report. 



260 

A. That was after it was all over, that that address was 
issued. 

Q. But we want to know what information you had through 
the newspapers, by authority of the Tax-Payers' Convention, 
in re<2:ard to the action of the tax-payers previous to Monday, 
the 7th of December ? 

A. I am trying to think of the article that I saw; I think it 
was in Thursday's or Friday's paper; it was before I went to 
Vicksbu rg; it was in Thursday's paper. 

Q. What did that article say ? 

A. That Crosby had been waited on by a committee of the 
Tax-Payers' Convention; that a mnjority and a minority report 
were made; I think they appointed a committee at that meet- 
ing to wait on Crosby and ask him to resign. 

Q. That was about the substance of the newspaper report ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Did 3'oii see anything criminal or riotous in that? 

A. Well, there is a legal way to get an officer out;- they 
might request him to resign. 

Q. They had a right to do that ? 

A. I expect they had. 

Q. Then did 3'ou see anything in that that was riotous ? 

A. 1 don't know that they had a right to request him with 
double-barrel shot-guns. 

Q. Did they do that ? 

A, I understood so. 

Q. From whom did you understand that ? 

A. From Crosby. 

Q. You never sought an}' other information on that point? 

A. Ko. 

Q. l>>id the report you saw of the proceedings of the Tax- 
Payers' Convention, sa^- that they made that request with shot- 
guns? 

A. No. 

Q. I understood you to sa}^ they had been riotous ? 

A. They appointed a committee to wait on Crosb}^ to ask 
him to resign. 

Q. You have stated that there was nothing criminal in that; 
that they h^.d a right to do that; don't you think it was due to 
the people of Vicksburg, who represent the property, and in a 
large degree the intelligence of the county, to have invcbti- 
gated their side of the case as well as that of Crosby ? 

A. I didn't have much time for investigation over there; the 
fact was, that Crosby had been put out of his office illegally, 
and the question was, how to get him back. 

Q. How do vou know that he had been put out of his office 
illegally ? 

A. He had been threatened. 

Q. How did you get that fact ? 

A. I got that from him. 



\ 



261 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q Do you think it was Ici^al for one man, or a number of 
men, to go and demand the resignation of county officials, 
legally elected and in office ? 

A. No. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. Do you know that the people did that ? 

A. I know from Crosby that he resigned in that way. 

Q. What is the character of Davenport? 

A. I have not much acquaintance with him; I never met 
him to know him until 1873. 

Q. Did you not read the Vicksburg papers ? 

A. I see he has been indicted. 

Q. For what ? 

A. F jr issuing false and fraudulent warrants. 

Q. By whom was he indicted? 

A. By the Grand Jury. , 

Q. Do you know anything about the political complexion of 
that Grand Jury, whetiier it was Democratic or Republican ^ 

A. 1 do not know what it was. 

Q. Is it often the case that persons of good character are 
indicted for offenses of that kind by a good Grand Jury ^ 

A. I don't know that they are. 

Q. Still you know nothing of the character of Davenport 
from information ? . 

A. I have seen a statement in the Vicksburg papers against 

him. n 1 • 4- 

Q. Have vou never heard any statement from his own part> 

friends with reference to his conduct in office ? 

A. I have not. _ 

Q. You say that vou were in Vicksl)uro on Saturday, the Dtti 
of Decembei-^did Vou see Captain F. C. Hall there in \ icks- 
burg ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Who is he ? 

A. A colored man in Vicksburg. 

Q. Do you know anything of his character ? 

A. I do not; I never saw liim before last Ju-ly. 

Q. Here is a disptch dated Jackson, December 4, 1874— 
that is the day you left: 

<' Jackson, Miss., Dec. 4th. 

*' Captain P. C. II all, care Sheriff: 

"Co-operate with your militia company with Sheriff Ciosby 
in bis etforls to regain possession of his oflice, and supi)res8 
the riotous mob in Vicksburg. 
" By order of the Governor. 

"(Signed) A. G. Packer, 

^ ''Adjutant General. 



262 

Did 3'on write that dispatch ? 

A. 1 did not. 

Q. D^d you sign your name to that dispatch? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Who wrote it ? 

A. The Governor. 

Q. What time in the morning ? 

A. Twelve or one o''ch)ck. 

Q. How could 3'ou sign that dispatch at twelve or one 
o'clock in Jackson, when you had left for Vicksburg in the 
morning ? 

A. I had not left then; I left on Saturday; this dispatch 
was written on Friday. 

Q. Did you know of such a militia officer as Captain P. C. 
Hall? 

A, No; hut he had been on the roll of the militia before. 

Q. Was he in the militia at that time? 

A. Under the law, I don't think he was. 

Q. But vou so recognized him on that occasion ? 

A. I had orders to send that dispatch, and I could have mus- 
tered his compan}' in, and, if necessary, reappointed him. 

Q. Suppose he had acted upon your dispatch on Friday, 
the 4th, you were not in Vicksburg then to organize and mus- 
ter in his company ? 

A. No ; I was not there. 

Q. How then do 3'ou presume that he could have exercised 
authority, not being in the militia? 

A. I (lid not expect him to get that dispatch until that night; 
he could not have done anythino- tliat nioht. 

Q. Wh> should he not have icccivcd it before night? 

A. I sent the dispatch about two o'clock; I did not know 
whether he was in the city or not, at that time. 

Q. Did you think he was out of the cit}? 

A. I did not know where he was. 

Q. I would like to know the reason wh}' you did not expect 
him to get that dispatch before night? 

A. Because I sent it to the care 01 the Sheriff, so that he 
coul'"' state it to Hall. 

Q. If Hall had received that dispatch prompt!}', and had 
acted u[)on it, he would have acted without authority, then ? 
* A. No; he would have taken that dispatch as an appointment, 
and have acted upon it. 

Q Do you think that you have the right to make appoint- 
ments in that way? 

A. I can make appointments, by order of the Governor, any 
way; I can organize the militia in the field. 

Q. Do you think that this dispatch would have constituted 
him a legal military officer ? 

A. Yes, sir; I think it would. 

Q. Upon what information do you state in this dispatch: 
*' Regain possession of his office, and suppress the riotous mob 



263 

in Vicksbiirg;" what information did you have that there was 
any riotous mob in Vicksburg? 

A. That was the mob that made Crosby resign. 

Q. You had no information that they had not dispersed? 

A. No. 

Q. Did yon think that they were then under aims and in 
possession of the Court-house and jail ? 

A. I don't know whether they had the jail or not; they had 
possession of the Court house. 

Q. Then here is another dispatch to Crosby: 

" Jackson, Miss., Dec. 4. 
" Sheriff Peter Crosby : 

"I have telegraphed Capt. P. C. Hall, by direction of the 
Govei-nor, to co-operate with you with his militia company, 
in your efforts to regain possession of your office, and to sup- 
press the mob. 

''[Signed,! A. G. Packkr, 

*- '''Adjutant General. 

Did you write that dispatch? 

A. No. 

Q. Did you sign it? 

A. Yes. 

Q. What time in the day did you sign it? 

A. About twelve or one o\-lock. 

Q. Were you present when the Governor wrote it? 

A. I was not. 

Q. Y''ou sent both dispatches at the same time? 

A. I sent all three, one to Judge Brown, besides these two; 
I was out of the office till after twelve o'clock, with the Attor- 
ney General, and wli^n I returned to the otlice, the Governor 
handed me these dispatches, and asked me to sign the two, and 
to send the one signed by him, to Judge Brown. 

Q. Y"ou say tiiat you sent this dispatch to Hall, and that it 
could have 'been accepted by him as a militia appointment; 
would this dispatch have conferred the authority to organize a 
mililia comi)any ? 

A. Yes, sir: that was authority. ^ 

Q. You are assuming in that dispatch that he had a militia 

company? 

A. Well, he had an old one. 

Q. But you said that that was not a militia company under 
the law? 

A. He could have got his old com pan v together. 

Q. Of whom was Captain Hall's militia company composed? 

A. Of colored men. 

Q. Exclusively of colored men ? 

A. 1 suppose so. 

Q. Why should you have telegraphed to Capt. Hall, a col- 
ored man", and his company composed exclusively of colored 



264 

men, and not to Col. Beaird or Capt. French, who were also 
militia oflicers, as much so as Capt. Hall? 

A. Because, if called upon they would probably not have 
acted. 

Q. What authority have j'ou for thinking that ? 

A. From a circumstance that took place there last July, 
just before the election; they were ordered then to turn over 
their guns. 

Q. To whom? 

A. To me. 

Q. Was Capt. Hall ordered to turn over the guns of his com- 
pany? 

A. He was. 

Q. Did he do it? 

A. No; he con Id not. 

Q. Then he refused to do what they refused to do. 

A. He did not refuse until after they did. 

Q. But if that destroyed your confidence in them, wh}'- not 
in him ? 

A. The arms belonging to the white militia companies were 
used in tlie White Leao-ue in Vicksburtj. 

Q. How do 3'ou know they were? 

A. I have been so informed. 

Q. By wl)om? 

A. I don't know as I care about telling that ; that is private 
information. 
* Q. Have you been so informed by more than one party ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Was that party a Republican or a Democrat? 

A. A Republican. 

Q. Have 3'ou ever sought an}^ information other than that 
you have stated on that subject? 

A No; not since that. 

Q. Y(^u took it for granted from a mere ex-jyarte statement 
of a single Republican witness? 

A. They liad that organization in the citv in July, and at 
that time when tiie colored man was killed — ^just betore or just 
after the election — those white militia companies were guard- 
ing the city with State arms. 

Q. Do you think that Capt. Hall would have been a more 
efReient commander of troops than Col. Beaird or Col. French, 
or his a more eflicient company than theirs ? 

A. I know nothing about the military efficiency of eitlier of 
them. 

Q. You jnst merely elected to have Hall co operate with 
Crosby, because you thought he was more liable to do it? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Is it not true that the very fact that this contest seemed 
to be a sort of a color contest, was your reason for giving your 
order to Hall ? Did not that have some influence on your 
action ? 



265 

A. No; not specially. 
Q. And not generally ? 

A. No. ' . ^ . . 

Q. Then it did not in any manner have any influence with 

you ? . 1 . X. T 

A. No; I saw Hall after the election, and he said, if I 

wanted those guns, he would try to gather them up; he was 

the only one that made that offer. 

Q. You had ordered them to be turned over to you ? 

A. Yes. 

Q . Why was it that you did not receive them when he offered 

to turn them over? 

A. I was going over there to get them. 

Q. When ? 

A. Last September, 

Q. Why did you not go ? 

A. I had other business that kept me here in Jackson. 

Q. You had no opportunity to go ? 

A. No. 

Q. You were there on Saturday > the 5th of December, did 

you try to get them then ? 
A. 1 did not. 

Q. Is it true that you wanted him ,to turn over those guns ? 
A. I had issued orders for them to be turned over. 
Q. But did you want him to turn over those guns? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Then, when he proposed to do it, why did you not have 

them turned over? 

A. I was going over after them. 

Q. Where were you when he made the proposition to turn 
fehein over to you? 

A. I met him m Vicksburg, in August. 
Q. Why did he not turn them over to you then? 
A. He could not get them then; they were scattered among 
the men he had in his compan3^ 

Q. Did you talk to Col. Beaii-d about the guns of his corn- 
pan}^ ? 

A. He was not responsible for any. 
Q. Did you talk to French ? 

A. Yes; I had a talk with Col. French; the last time 1 saw 
him on the subject was on the first day of the registration of 
the Third ward. 

Q. What did he say ? 

A. He said that his guns were all out through the city. 

Q. Did he say that he would try to get them ? 

A. He said he would not get them. 

Q. Did he say he would not turn them over to you 7 

A. He said he could not. 

Q. Capt. Hall seemed to be in the same position ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Capt. French commanded a white company 7 

A. Yes. 



266 

Q. Capt. French and Capt. Hall enjoj'ed the same military 
rank ? 

A. Yes. 

Q The}' were both appointed officers of militia, but their 
names have not been sent to the Senate for confirmation, and 
their appointment was void? 

A. Yes. 

Q. They were both in the same attitude ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Capt. French is a white man, and commanded a company 
of white men ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And Hall is a colored man, and commanded a company 
of coloi-ed men ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You demanded the guns of both companies? 

A. Yes. 

Q. And both French and Hall said they could not get the 
guns ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. What is it that has destroyed your confidence in Capt. 
French, when you have retained your confidence in Hall V 

A. I understood the guns were used last summer in the 
White League. 

Q. From whom did you obtain that information ? 

A. I decline to ans ver that; there were a hundred guns more 
that Mr. Fui'long is responsible for. 

Q. Furlong is a Brigadier General ? 

A. He was. 

Q. He lives in Vicksburg ? 

A. Yes. 

Q He occupied the same attitude, as far as his commission 
was concerned, as Hall and French ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. If Cnpt. Hall was a legal officer on that day, was not 
Furlong a legal officer also ? 

A. If one was, the other w^as. 

Q. If the Governor, through his Adjutant General, had the 
right to order or request Hall to aid the Shei'iff to suppress a 
mob, did he not have the same right to command or request 
Fur Ion <2^ ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Why was it that Furlong did not get any order from the 
Governor ? 

A. He wns not a legal peace officer. 

Q. VVas Capt. Hall a peace officer ? 

A. No. 

Q. Why should the Governor have ignored Furlong, and re- 
stored the rank of Captain to Hall ? 

A. That is something which the Governor is responsible for. 



I 



267 

Q. Has the Governor given you any reason for his action in 
this respect ? 
A. No. 

Q. DiJ he not recognize Furlong as a militia officer ? 
A. lie did not recognize any of those militia officers, be- 
cause they were not confirmed by tlie Senate. 

Q. But* he did recognize Hall in this order; he gave you no 
reason for issuing that order to Hall, specially ? 
A. No. 

Q. You were not threaiened by any one while you were over 
there in Vicksburg? 
A. No; not personally. 
Q. Were you threatened otherwise ? 

A. I was "informed by thiee or four friends, that things were 
getting rather hot. 

Q. That threats had been made against you ? 
A. Yes. 

Q. By whom were you so informed? 
A. Different parties. 
Q. By whom were the threats made? 
A. T'iiey did not state any names. 
Q. You' were about generally on the streets there? 
A. Yes. 

Q. Did you feel intimidated by anything you saw, or any- 
thing that was said to you? 
A. No, sir. 

Q. Do you think that it would have been safe for Governor 
Ames to "have gone there to Vicksburg with you? 
A. I don't know as it would. 

Q. Wiiat reason have you for believing that it would not? 
A. He might have bee'^ti safe personally, but he might have 
been insulted on the street. 

Q. I asked you whether it would have been safe for him to 
have gone there? 

A. I don't know that it would. 

Q. You think he would have received bodily harm? 
A. He would have been apt to. 

Q. Don't you think that the high position of the Governor, 
and the respect ot the peoi.k for his office, would have pre- 
served him harmless in Vicksburg? 

A. I don't think that that would have had any effect. 
Q. You think that Ihe Governor is in woise repute in Vicks- 
burg then, than his Adjutant General ? 

A. I don't know how the Adjutant General stands there; I 
think they had a little more spite against him than against me. 
Q. Did" you see Mr. Sullivan there, of the House ? 
A. Yes; I brought him out on a special train. 
Q. Do you think that the people ot Vicksburg have more 
respect for his political sentiments than for those of Governor 
Ames ? 

A. I don't know that they have. 



268 

Q. He was there, and came out harmless? 
A. Yes. 

Q. Do 3'ou not believe, that if Governor Ames had gone to 
Vicksburg in his official capacity — instead of sending his 
Adjutant General — and if he had called a meeting of citi- 
zens of all parties, the parties complaining, and the party 
of tlie officers, and had said to the citizens: "Gentlemen, yoii 
complain of the insufficiency ot this bond; 3'OU are tax-payers; 
and as you say that you don't want to pay 3^our money into 
irresponsible hands, I have come here' as Governor, sworn to 
see that the law is faithfully administered and executed ; if 
3'our variances are just, I will see that they are righted ;" 
don't you think that that would have stopped the whole thing? 

A. That is according to how the meeting was put up. 

Q. Suppose the Governor had called the meeting, and had 
got up and made a little talk to them, and said: "Gentlemen, 
appoint your committee, and I will confer with them at my 
hotel ;" and suppose he had made these statements to the 
committee, don't you think that that would have stopped the 
whole thing? 

A. I think likely it might. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Do you think it would have been proper for the Gover- 
nor to have pursued such a course, taking ever3^thing into con- 
sideration, and considering the attitude of the people ? 

A. I do not. 

By l\[r. Allen: 

Q. What do 3'ou think the duties of the Governor are ? 

A. To execute the laws. 

Q. Don't 3^ou think, when there is about to be a riot and 
bloodshed, only forty miles from the capital, with a railroad 
connection, that it would be the duty of a Governor, with a 
proper regard for the citizens whom he governs, to go there 
himself ? 

A. Under the circumstances that brought about the con- 
dition of affairs, I think he had better kept out. 

Q. Why so ? 

A. Because he might have got in trouble himself; there was 
no knowing. 

Q. Is it not the dut3' of a Governor, or an3^ other officer, to 
even take some chances in order to preserve order and law in 
his realm? Do 3^ou think that the mere fact that he might 
receive personal insult, justifies him in remaining awa3' ? 

A. No; I do not. 

Q. You have said that 3^ou did not think an3^ personal harm 
would come to him ; that he might have been insulted; but 
that if he had gone there and called a meeting, he might have 
stopped the whole thing ? 



269 

A. I don't know that it is the duty of the Governor to travel 
around the State every time there is a riot kicked up. 

Q. How long have you been Adjutant General ? 

A. Since the luth ot April, 1874. 

Q. Were you the Governor's Adjutant General when the 
riot occurred at Austin ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Were you sent there to Austin? 

A. I started to go, but I got a dispatch stopping me. 

Q. What were your orders then ? 

A. To go there and stop the riot, organize the militia if 
necessar}^, and preserve the peace there. 

Q. How far did you get before you were stopped ? 

A. I just got ready to go to the depot, and got the dispatch 
before going there; I did not leave this city then. 

By Mr. Sullivan: 

Q. Do you think it would have been safe for you to have 
attempted to organize a militia company in Vicksburg on the 
5th of December, 1874? 

A. No; I was advised against it bj' friends, and after look- 
ing over the situation, I thought it was not advisable to call 
out the militia. 

By Mr. Champlyi : 

Q. You sa^^ you were Adjutant General of the State ? 

A. I was then; I am not now; I was at the time of the 
Vicksburg affair. 

Q, You said you went there by order of the Governor; were 
his orders to j^ou in writing or verbal? 

A. Verbal. 

Q. Is that the wa}^ in which commanders-in-chief give 
orders — verball}' ? 

A. They generally give them to their staff in that waj'. 

Q. When they send them off to a different place, do they 
give their orders verbally ? 

A. Yes; it is customary. 

Q. Are 3'ou of the opinion that if an officer has been dis- 
possessed of his office unjustlj^, that the proper remedy is to 
call out the militia to restore him to office '? 

A. After all legal remedies have failed — yes, 

Q. Had any legal remedies been resorted to at Vicksburg '' 

A. There had been illegal remedies resorted to. 

Q. Had Crosbj^ resorted to any legal remedies to restore him 
fco office ? 

A. He had been over there on Friday, to take possession of 
his office. 

Q. If a Constable was dispossessed of his office, would not 
the Governor have just as much right to call out the militia to 
restore him to office, as he would have in the case of a Sheriff? 

A. Yes. 
In— 19 



270 

Q. Is not the civil law of the State strong enough to afford 
a re 111 ed 3" ? 

A. Tlie civil law did not seem to be strong enough in War- 
ren county ? 

Q. Wh}' was it not strong enough ? 

A. I don't know. 

Q. Was it because Judge Brown would not hold Court ? 

A. Yes; he could not hold Court. 

Q. What was to hinder him ? 

A. The mob there had prevented him. 

Q. Did anybody try to prevent his holding Court on that 
Monday ? 

A. Not that I am aware of. 

Q. Could not Judge Brown, under our law, have gone on and 
appointed a Sheriff /^ro tem.f 

A. Yes. 

Q. Would not that have been the most proper mode for him 
to have adopted ? 

A. Yes; that would have been the proper way, if he "ould 
have held Court. 

Q. He could have held it, unless he was threatened? 

A. I don't know that he could on that day. 

Q. He could if he was not scared, and he says he was not 
scared; you said that the Governor ought not to have gone to 
Vicksluirg; was he not commander in-chief of the State? 

A. Yes. 

Q. When he calls out the militia, has he not the right, and 
is it not his duty to go and take command ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Why did he not go there to Vicksburg and take com- 
mand ? 

A. He might turn over the command to me. 
Q. Does an Adujtant General take command of an army in 
the field ? 

A. No; not in the field. 

Q. You went to Vicksburg, then, to serve as Adjutant Gen- 
eral to Hall, who was commander-in-chief ? 
A. No, sir. 

Q. He was the only man that had command there of the 
militia ? 

A. I was there to represent the Governor. 
Q. You were not Adjutant General for Hall ? 
A. No, sir; I was not. 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. Do you consider that there was any civil law in Vicks- 
burg at the time you went there ? 

A. No, sir. 

Q. Could Judge Brown have appointed a Sheriff of his 
Court, there being alread}' a legal Sheriff, he recognizing 
Crosby as Sheriff? 

"% 



271 

A. The Sheriff was laboring under disabilities. 

Q. What were those disabilities ? 

A. He had been removed by a mob; I don't know whether 
the Judge couKi have appointed a Sheriff while Crosl>y was 
there; there could not be two Sheriffs; I don't think it would 
have have been lawful to have two Sheriffs. 

By Mr. Allen: 

Q. I would like to inquire whether you are a lawyer ? 
A. No; I am not. 

By Mr. Gill: 

Q. From the newspapers and all the information in your pos- 
session, did you not know that Beaird, French and Furlong 
were in sympath3' with the mob ? 

A. I so understood; that they were in the Tax Payers* 
Lea<>:ue. 

Q. Do you think that any set of men who had allowed their 
passions to get as high as the white people in Vicksburg had, 
could be relied upon for anything? 

A. No, sir; there was part of the mob that was hard to get 
along with; the leaders — some of them — were men of temper- 
ate views. 

Q. Did it not require the best efforts of the best citizens 
there to prevent the mob from hanging Crosby and other 
parties ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. You sta.ted that the Tax Payers' Convention appointed a 
committee to request the Sheriff to resign? • 

A. I saw that in the Flerald, one of the papers published in 
Vicksburg. 

Q. Did not the spme paper also say that the meeting went 
in a body — some six hundred strong— to the Court-house, to 
demand the resignation of Crosby ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Do you think that the white men of Vicksburg were 
under arms to defend their city, so much as to keep the legal 
Sheriff from getting possession of liis office? 

A. Thev were organized, and in arms, to keep Crosby out of 
the Sheriff's office. 

Q. Was not that their object more than to defend the city? 

A. They were in arms before they had an}' idea of any in- 
vasion, I think. 

Q. Do 3'()u know whether P. C. Hall was a peace officer or 
not, civilly ? 

A. I do not. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. From vour information, do you think that Gov. Ames 
was justified in the statements made in his proclamation of the 
5th of December, 1874? 



272 

A. I think that was issued on the 4th — it is dated the 5th — 
but I thiiik it was issued the day before I went to Vicksburg; 
I was not present when the committee waited on the Governor, 
but from what I learned, I think he was justified in his state- 
ment. 

Q. Do you think it was his duty to have issued that procla- 
mation as Governor of the State? 

A. Yes. 

The Committee hcFC adjourned, subject to the call of the 
chairman. 



B O IsT 3D 



OF 



PETER CROSBY AS TAX-COLLECTOR. 



State of Mississippi, Warren County. 

Know all men hy these presents : That we, Peter Crosby, as 
principal, and P. B. Barrow, Edward Jones, Geo. A. Stephens, 
Richard Walker, Edmond Resle^^, Abraham Lathan, Henry 
Whiting, Alexander Stackhouse, Morgan Wilson, George W. 
Bovd, John Lewis, Stephen Johnson, Martin Keary, Claib. 
Green, Virginia Williams, Richard Dohler, George R. Farmer, 
Lewis Kent, Thomas Jackson, S. Williams, P. S. Bolls, B. B. 
Lewis, Smith Dickson, Alex. Hartshorn, Joseph Sanders, Jno. 
Sanders, Alfred Allen, Nimrod Gaunt, Jacob Hartshorn, Sea- 
born King, George S. Yerger, W. H. Taylor, Charles Caldwell, 
Georo-e W. Shepherd, W. H. Harney, George M. Buchanan, 
John°A. Mahon, B. K. Bruce, James Hill, William Price, 
Finis H. Little, Bayor Palmer, S. J. Ireland, John Brown, G. 
C. Smith, G. H. Holland and E. Williams, as sureties, are held 
and firmly bound unto the State of Mississippi in the penal 
sum of eighty thousand one hundred and sixty-five dollars and 
thirty-nine cents, for the payment of which, well and truly to 
be made, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and adminis- 
trators, jointly and severally, firmly by these presents, signed 
with our hands, and sealed with our seals, this thirty-first day 

of , A. D. 187-. 

The condition of the above obligation is such that, whereas, 
the above bounden Peter Crosby was duly elected to the office 
of Sheriff of Warren county, on the fourth day of November, 
1873, for the term of two years, from the first Monday in Jan- 
uary', 1874; and whereas, the law provides that the Sheritf of 
each county shall be Tax Collector therein ; now, therefore, if 



274 



the said Sheriff and Tax Collector shall, well and triil}-, and 
truthfully, collect all the taxes assessed, and promptlj^ pay into 
the State and County Treasuries, all the mone}' collected by 
him, and to which said Treasuries shall be respectively entitled, 
and shall, in all things, truly and faithfully, execute and per- 
form all the duties of Tax Collector of said count}^ to the best 
of his skill and ability, so long as he shall continue in office, 
then this obligation to be void and of no effect, .otherwise of 
full force and virtue. 

PETER CROSBY, [Seal.] 
[.$1000] B. B. Barrow, [Seal.] 
[$1000] Edward Jones, [Seal.] 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

His 
[$4000] Geo. A. X Stephens, [Seal.] 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

His 
[$1000] Richard X Walker, [Seal.] 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

His 
[$1000] Edmond X Reslet, [Seal.] 
mark. 
Witness : R. J. Temple. 

His 
[$4000] Abraham X Lathan [Seal.] 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

[$250J Henry Whiting, [Seal.] 
Witness : R. J. Temple. 

His 
[S2000] Alex. X Stackhouse, [Seal.] 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

[S250] Morgan Nelson, [Seal.] 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

[$2000] Geo. W. Boyd, [Seal.] 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

His 
[$2000] John X Lewis, [Seal] 

mark. 
[$2000] Stephen Johnson, [Seal.] 

His 
[$2000] Smith X Dickson, [Seal] 

mark. 
[$5000] Martin Keary, [Seal.] 

His 
[$5000] Alex. X Hartshorn, [Seal.] 

mark. 
[$2500] Claiborne Green, [Seal.] 



275 

[$2000] Virginia Williams, [Seal.] 

His 
[$2000] Joseph X Sanders, [Seal] 

mark. 
[$1500] Richard Dohler, [Seal.] 
[$5000] Geo. R. Farmer, [Seal] 

His 
[$5000] John X Sanders, [Seal.] 
mark. 
His 
[$1200] Alfred X Allen, [Seal.] 
mark. 
His 
[$1200] Seaborn X King, [Seal.] 

mark. 
[$5000] Lewis Kent, [Seal.] 
His 
[$500] Thomas X Jackson, [Seal.] 

mark. 
[$500] S. Williams, [Seal.] 
[$250 1 Jacob Hartshorn, [Seal.] 

[$600 J P. S. Bolls, [Seal] 
His 
[$3000] Barney B. X Lewis, [Seal.] 
mark. 
His 
[$3000] N-. X Gaunt, [Seal.] 
mark . 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

On this, the twenty-eighth day of September, 18^^;,^^- 
sonally appeared before me, the undersigned, Chancery Oleik, 
in and for said county and Slate, P. B. Barrow, surety on the 
above bond, who being by me duly sworn, deposes that he is 
worth over the sum of one thousand dollars over and above 
his just debts and legal liabilities and exemptions, in tree-hold 

^^^^^^' P. B. Barrow. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 28th day of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 1874. ,^ -r^ 

rcpj-j Geo. W. Davenport, 

L -• Clerk Waneu County. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally ai)peared before me, the undersigned. Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Ed Nvard 
Jones, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being clui> 
sworn, says that he is worth the sum of one thousand dollars 
over and above all his just debts and legal liabilities and 
exemptions, in free-hold estate. Edward Jones. 



276 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 30th day of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, Clerk of 
the Chancer}' Court, in and for said county and State, George 
A. Stephens, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being 
dul}^ sworn, says that he is worth the sum of four thousand 
dollars, over and above all his just debts and legal liabilities 
and exemptions, in free-hold estate. 

His 
Geo. a. X Stephens. 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 30th- day of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Richard 
Walker, one of the sureties, on the above bond, who, being 
duly sworn, says that he is worth the sum of one thousand 
dollars, over and above all hi^ just debts and legal liabilities 
and exemptions, in free-hold estate. 

His 
Richard X Walker. 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 30th day of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 1874. 

Geo. W. Davenport, 
[Seal.] Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned. Clerk of the 
Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Edmond 
Resley, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly 
6Worn, says that he is worth the sum of one thousand dollars 
over and above all his just debts and legal liabilities and ex- 
emptions, in free-hold estate. 

His 
Edmond X Resley. 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 



277 

Subscribed anrl sworn to before me, this 30th da}' of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State op Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, Clerk of the 
Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Abraham 
Lathan, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly 
sworn, says that he is worth the sum of four thousand dollars, 
over and above all his just debts and legal liabilities and ex- 
emptions, in free-hold estate. 

His. 
Abraham X Lathan. 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 30th day of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 1874, 

[Seal. J Geo. W, Davenport, 

Cleric . 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned. Clerk of the 
Chancery Court in and for said county and State, Henry Whit- 
ing, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly 
sworn, says that he is worth the sura of two hundred and fifty 
dollars, over and above all his just debts and legal liabilities 
and exemptions, in free-hold estate. 

His 
Henry X Whiting. 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 30th day of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 1874 

Geo. W. Davenport, 
[Seal.j Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned. Clerk of the 
Chancery Court, in and for the said county and State, Alexan- 
der Stackhonse, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, 
being duly sworn, says that he is worth the sum of two thou- 
sand dollars, over and above all his just debts and legal lia- 
bilities and exemptions, in free-hold estate. 

Geo. W. Boyd. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 30th day of Sep 
tember, A. D. 1874. 

rSeal.l Geo. W. Davenport, 

*■ Clerk. 



278 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned. Clerk of the 
Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, John Lewis, 
one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly sworn, 
says that he is worth the sum of two tliousand doUars, over 
and above all his just debts and legal liabilities and exemp- 
tions, in free-hold estate. 

His 
John X Lewis. 
mark. 
Witness: R. J. Temple. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 1st day of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

Geo. W. Davenport, 
I Seal.] Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, Clerk of the 
Circuit Court, in and for said county, Stephen Johnson, one of 
the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly sworn, says 
that he is worth the sum of two thousand dollars, over and 
above all liis just debts and legal liabilities and exemptions, 
in free- hold estate. 

Stephen Johnson. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 5th day of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

Jos. W. Short, 

[Seal.] Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

On this day appeared, personally, IMartin Keary, one of the 
sureties on the above bond, who doth depose that he is worth 
the sum of five thousand dollars, over and above his just debts 
and legal liabilities and exemptions, in free-hold estate. 

Martin Keary. 
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 5th day of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

Geo. W. Davenport, 
[Seal.] Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, "Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, Clerk of the 
Chancery Couit, in and for said county and State, Claiborne 
Green, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly 
sworn, says that he is worth the sum of twenty-five hundred 
dollars, over and above his just debts and legal liabilities and 
exemptions, in tree-hold estate. 

Claiborne Green. 



279 
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 8tli day of October, 

^' ' ' Geo. W. Davenport, 

ro 11 Clerk. 

[Seal.J 

State op Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, Clerk of the 
Chancery Court, in and for the said county and btate Virginia 
Williams, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being 
duly sworn, says that she is worth the sum of two thousand 
dollars, over and above her just debts and legal liabilities and 

exemptions, in free -hold estate. 
. ^ Virginia Williams. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 12fch day of Oct., 

A D 1 74 

Vol^i -I Geo. W. Davenport, 

L^^^^-J Clerk. 

State op Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Pprsonallv appeared before me, the undersigned, Circuit 
Clerk, in and for said county, Richard Dohler, one ot the sure- 
ties on the above bond, who, being duly sworn, says that he is 
worth the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, over and above his 
just debts and legal liabilities and exemptions, in free-hoid 

^^^^^^- Richard Dohler. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 12th day of Oct., 

^'r?l.n^*^" Jos. W. Short, 

L^^^^-J Clerk. 

State op Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before the undersigned. Clerk of the 
Chancery .Court, in and for said county and State, brco K. 
Farmer, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly 
sworn, says that he is worth the sum of five thousand dollars, 
over and above his just debts and legal liabilities and exemp- 
tions, in free-hold estate. ^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^ 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 12th day of Oct., 

A D 1874. 

r^pnl 1 Geo. W. Davenport, 

L^^^^'-l Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personallv appeared before me, the undersigned, Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Seabo n 
Kino- one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly 



280 

sworn, sa3''3 he is worth the sum of one thousand dollars, over 
and above his just debts and legal liabilities and exemptions, 
in free-hold estate. 

His 
Seaborn X King. 
mark 
Witness: Peter Crosby. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 26th day of Oct., 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, County of ss . 

Personally appeai*ed before me, the undersigned, Clerk of 
the Circuit Court, in and for said count}^ Lewis Kent, one of 
the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly sworn, says 
he is worth the sum of five thousand dollars, o\er and above 
his just debts and legal liabilities and exemptions, in free hold 
estate. 

Lewis Kent. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 17th day of Oct., 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Jos. W. Short, 

Clerk. 

State op Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, Geo. W. Davenport, Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Preston 
S. Bolls, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being 
duly sworn, says he is worth the sura of six hundred dollars, 
over and above his just debts and legal liabilities and exemp- 
tions, in free-hold estate. 

P. S. Bolls. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 22d day of Oct., 
A. D., 1874. 

I Seal] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, G. W. Davenport, Clerk of 
the Chancer}^ Conrt, in and for said county and State, Thomas 
Jackson, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being 
duly sworn, sa3'S that he is worth the sum of five hundred 
dollars, over and above his just debts and legal liabilities and 
exemptions, in free-hold estate. 

His 
Thomas X Jackson. 
mark 
Witness: Peter Crosby. 



281 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 23d day of Oct., 
A. D 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk, 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personall}^ appeared before me, G. W. Davenport, Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, S. Wil- 
liams, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly 
.sworn, sa3's that he is worth the sum of two hundred and fifty 
dollars, over and above his just debts and legal liabilities and 
exemptions, in free-hold estate. 

S. Williams. 

Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 23d da};' of Oct., 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, G. W. Davenport, Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, B. B, 
Lewis, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly 
sworn, says that he is worth the sum of three thousand dol- 
lars, over and above his just debts, legal liabilities and exemp- 
tions, in free-hold estate. 

His 
Barney B. X Lewis, 
mark 
Witness: Peter Crosby. 

Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 23d day of Oct., 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk, 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me,G. W. Davenport, Clerk of the 
Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Jacob Harts- 
horn, one of the sureties on the above bond, who, being duly 
sworn says that he is worth the sum of four hundred 
dollars, over and above his just debts, legal liabilities and ex- 
emptions, in free-hold estate. 

His 
Jacob X Hartshorn, 
mark 
Witness : Peter Crosby. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 23d day of Oct., 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk, 



282 

State of Mississippi, County of Warren, ss. 

Peisonnlly appeared before me, G. W. Davenport, Clerk of the 
Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, N. Gaunt, 
"who, being duly sworn, says that he is worth the sum of one 
thousand dollars, over and above his just debts and legal lia- 
bilities and exemptions. 

His 
N. X Gaunt. 
mark. 
Witness: Peter Crosby. 

Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 23d day of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Person all}' appeared before me, Geo. W. Davenport, Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Smith 
Dickson, one of the sureties on the foregoing bond, and made 
oath that he is worth the sum of four thousand dollars, over 
and above his just debts, legal liabilities and property exempt 
from execution at law. 

His 
Smith X Dickson. 
mark. 
Witness: Peter Crosby. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 23d da}- of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, Geo. W. Davenport, Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Alexan- 
der Hartshorn, one of the sureties on the foregoing bond, and 
made oath that he is worth the sum of four hundred dollars, 
over and above all his just debts, legal liabilities and property 
exempt Irom execution at law. 

His 
Alexander X Hartshorn. 
mark. 
Witness: Peter Crosby. 

Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 23d day of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Peisonally appeared before me, Geo. W. Davenport, Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Joseph 



283 

Sanders, one of the sureties on the foregoing bond, and niado 
oath that he is worth the sum of one thousand dollars, over 
and above ail his just debts, legal liabilities and property 
exempt fn^m execution at law. 

His 
Joseph X Sanders. 
mark. 
Witness: Peter Crosby. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 23d da}- of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, Geo. W. Davenport, Clerk of 
the Chanceiy Court, in and for said county and State afore- 
said, John Sanders, one of the sureties on the foregoing bond, 
and made oath that he is worth the sum of one thousand dol- 
lars, over and above his just debts, legal liabilities, and 
property exempt from execution at law. 

His 
John X Sanders. 
mark. 
Witness: Peter Crosby. 

Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 23d day of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk, 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Personall}^ appeared before me, Geo. W. Davenport, Clerk of 
the Chancery Court, in and for said county and State, Alfred 
Allen, one of the sureties on (he foregoing bond, and made 
oath that he is worth the sum of two hundred dollars, over and 
above all his just debts, legal liabilities, and property exempt 
from execution at law. 

His 
Alfred X Allen. 
mark. 
Witness: Peter Crosby. 

Svvorn and subscribed to before me, this 23d da}- of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

[Seal.] Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 



B O IsT ID 

^ OF 

PETER CROSBY AS SHERIFF. 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

Knoio all men by these presents: Tliat we, Peter Crosby, as 
principal, and Geo. S. Yerger, W. H Tajdor, Cliarles Caldwell, 
Geo. W. Shepherd, W. H. Harney, Geo. M. Buchanan, Jno. A. 
Mahon, B, K. Bruce, James Hill, William Price, Finis H. Lit- 
tle, Baylor Palmer, S. J. Ireland, Jno. S. Brown, G. C. Smith, 
G. H. Holland, E. W. Williams, as sureties, are held and firmly 
bound unto the State of Mississippi, in the penal sum of 

' ■ — - — dollars, for the payment of which well and truly 

to be made, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors, and 
administrators, jointly and severall}^ firmly by these presents. 
Signed with our hands, and sealed with our seals, this 31st day 
of — , A. D. 1874. 

The condition of the above obligation is such, That whereas, 
the above bounden, Peter Crosby, wasdul}?- elected to the office 
of Sheriff of Warren county, on the 4tli day of November, 
1873, for the term of two years from the first Monday in Jan- 
uary, 1874; and whereas. The law provides that the Sherifl' 
of each count}^ shall be Tax Collector therein; now, therefore, 
If the said Sheriff and Tax Collector shall well and truly and 
faithfully collect all the taxes assessed, and promptly pay into 
the State and county treasuries, all the moneys collected by 
him, and to which said treasuries shall be respectively entitled, 
and shall in all things truly and faithfully execute and per- 
form all the duties of Tax Collector of said county, to the 
best of his skill and abilit}^, so long as he shall continue in 
offlce, then this obligation to be void and of no effect, other- 
wise of full force and virtue. 

To the amount of fSlOOO] Geo. S. Yerger, [Seal] 

$10001 Wm. H. Taylor, [Seal.] 
j1>4000] Charles Caldwell, [Seal.] 
$2000] G. W. Shepherd, [Seal.] 
$>000| Wm. H. Harney, [Seal.] 
^$2000] Geo. M. Buchanan, [Seal] 
$2000] John A. Mahon, [Seal.] 
$5000] B. K. Bruce, [Seal] 

By JAMES HILL, [Seal] 

Attorney in fact. 



285 



To the amount of 



$1000 
$1000 
$4000 
$1000 
$4000 
$5000 
$2000 
$2000 
81000] 



James Hill, [Seal. J 
William Price, [Seal.] 
Finis H. Little, [Seal.] 
Baylor Palmer, [Seal.] 
S. J. Ireland, [Seal.] 
John Brown, [Seal.] 
C. B. Smith, [Seal.] 
G. H. Holland, [Seal.] 
E. B. Wilborn, [Seal.] 



State of Mississirn, Marshall County, ss. 

On the 25th day of September, 1874. personally appeared 
before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace in and for 
said county, G. M. Buchanan and J. A. Mahon, sureties on the 
above entitled bond, who, being duly sworn, deposed that they 
are worth the sum of two thousand dollars, each, over and 
above their just debts, legal liabilities, and exemptions, in real 
or personal property. 

Geo. M. Buchanan, 
John A. Mahon. 

Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 25th day of Sep- 
tember, A. D. 1874. 

B. W. Lee, [Seal.] 

Justice of the Pence. 

State of Mississipfi, Hinds County, ss. 

On this 3Gth September, 1874, personall}^ appeared before 
me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, in and for said 
count}', B. K. Bruce, by James Hill, his Attorney in fact, and 
James Hill, sureties on the above entitled bond, who, being 
duly sworn, deposes that they are worth — B. K. Bruce, the 
sum of five thousand dollars, b}^ James Hill, Attorney in fact; 
James Hill, one thousand dollars, over and above their just 
debts, legal liabilities and exemptions, in renl and personal 
property. 

B. K. Bruce, 
By James Hill, Attorneti in fact. 
James Hill. 
Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 30th day of Sep- 
tember, A. I). 1874. 

Peyton Robinson. J. P. [Seal.] 

State of Mississippi, Hinds County, ss. 

On this 2d day of , 1874, personally ap])eared before 

me, the undersigned, John McGill. Ma3'or of the City of Jack- 
son, and ex-officio Justice of the Peace, in and for the county 
and State aforesaid, William Price, surety on the above bond, 
who, beino' dulv sworn, deposeth that ho is worth tlio sum of 
In-^20 



286 

one thousand ($1000) dollars, over and above his just debts, 
legal liabilities and exemptions, in real property. 

William Price. 
Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 2d day of October, 
A. D. 1874. 

John McGill, Mayor and J. P. [Seal.] 

State of Mississippi, Hinds County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of 
the Peace, in and for said count}'. Finis H. Little, surety on 
the foregoing bond, who, being duly sworn, deposes that he is 
worth over and above his legal exemptions, liabilities and just 
debts, the sum of four thousand ($4000) dollars, in real estate, 
situate in the State of Mississippi. 

Finis H. Little. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 6th day of October, 
1874. 

Peyton Eobinson, J. P. [Seal] 

State of Mississippi, Hinds County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of 
the Peace, in and for said county, Baylor Palmer, surety on the 
foregoing bond, who, being duly sworn, deposes that he is 
worth over and above his legal exemptions, liabilities and just 
debts, the sum of one thousand dollars, in real estate, situated 
in the State of Mississippi. 

Baylor Palmer. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this Sth day of October, 
1874. 

Peyton Robinson, J. P. [Seal.] 

State of Mississippi, Hinds County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, A. W. Little, Clerk of the 
Supreme Court of Mississippi, S. J. Ireland, John Brown, C. B. 
Smith, and G. H. Holland, sureties on the foregoing bond, who, 
being dul}' sworn, deposes that they are worth over and above 
their legal exemptions, liabilities and just debts, the sum of 
five thousand ($5000) dollars, in the State of Mississippi. 

S. J. Ireland, 
John Brown, 
C. B. Smith, 
G. H. Holland. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this day of October, 

1874. 

A. W. Little, 
[Seal.] Clerk of the Supreme Court of Mississippi. 

State op Mississippi, Hinds County, ss. 

This day, personally appeared before me. Chancery Clerk, in 
and for said colinty, W. H. Harney, who, being duly sworn^ 



287 

says on oath, that he owns property to the amount of two 
thousand doUars, in free-hold estate, above and over his just 
debts, liabilities and exemptions, in this State, subject to exe- 
cution at law. 

G. W. bHEPIIERD. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, October 13, 1874. 

Murray Peyton, 

Clerk. 

State of Mississippi, Hinds County, ss. 

Personally appeared before me, Silas J. Casey, Justice of the 
Peace in and for said county, E. B. Welborn, who, being sworn, 
says on oath, that he owns property to the amount of one 
thousand dollars, in free-hold estate, above and over his just 
debts and liabilities and exemptions, in this State, subject to 

execution at law. ,. -r^ ,xr 

E. B. Wilborn. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 14th day of Octo- 
ber, 1874. a T o 

S. J. Casey, 

rggg^j -j Justice of the Peace. 

State of Mississippi, Hinds County, ss. 

Personally appeared before the undersigned, Chancery Clerk* 
in and for said county, Charles Caldwell, W. H. Taylor and 
G S Yerger, who, being duly sworn, says on oath, that they 
own rearestate in said State, over and above all their just 
debts, liabilities and legal exemptions, sufficient to cover tlie 
amounts set opposite their names on the withm bond. 

Charles Caldwell. 
Wm. H. Taylor. 
Geo. S. Yerger. 
Sworn to and subscribed before me, October 22, 1874. 

Murray Peyton, 
rgg^l -j Chancery Clerk. 

The State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

I, George W. Davenport, Clerk of the Chancery Court, 
within and for said count}^ do hereby certify that the foi^go- 
ino- twenty-seven pages contain a true and correct copy- of the 
bo'^id of Peter Crosby, as Sheriff of Warren county, Missis- 
sippi, and the bond of said Peter Crosby as Tax Collector of 
said county and State, with the sureties and their justifications 
on each of said bonds, filed October 27th, 1874, as the same 
appears on file and of record in my office, in records of official 

bonds, pages . , 

Witness my hand and seal of said^ Court, affixed at office 
this the 2d day of Januaiy, A. D. 1875. 

Geo. W. Davenport, 

[Seal.] ^^^'''^' 

W. H. Nelson, 

Deputii Clerk, 



288 

BOARD OF SUPEKVIS0R8, WARREN COUNTY, MISS. 

Tuesday Morning, October 27, 1874. 

Board met pursuant to public notice given. 

Present — C. Axelson, President ^;ro ^e?7i; Henry Hunt, Oscar 
Speed, W. B. Lewis, members. 

Peter Crosby, Sheriff and Tax Collector of Warren count3% 
presented to the Board new bonds as Sheriff and Tax Collec- 
tor, in accordance with the order of the Board of the 8th day 
of October, 1874, requiring said officer to give a new bond as 
Tax Collector, in the sum of eighty thousand, one hundred 
and sixty-five 39-100 dollars (S80,165 39), and a new bond as 
Sheriff, in the sum of twenty thousand -dollars, within twenty 
days after notice of said order. 

On examining said bond as Tax Collector, and the sufficienc}' 
of the sureties thereon, and it appearing to the Board that 
the said bond is good and sufficient security for the penalty of 
$80,165 39, therein stated, and otherwise in full compliance 
with said order, it is ordered and adjudged by the Board, 
that the said bond of said Peter Crosby, as said Tax Collector, 
be approved, and that the same be filed by the Clerk, accord- 
ing to law. 

And further, that the sureties on said Crosby's former bond 
be discharged from further liability on their said bond, as to 
the performance of all official duties, upon the part of said 
oflficer, from this date. 

And it further appearing to the Board, that the said bond, 
as Sheriff, is good and sufficient for the penalty of twenty 
thousand dollars therein stated, and otherwise in compliance 
with the said order of October 8, 1874. It is ordered by the 
Board, that the said new bond of Peter Crosb}", as Sheriff, be 
approved, and that the same be filed with the Clerk of this 
Board, according to lav/; and further, that the former sureties 
on said Crosbj-'s bond, as Sheriff, be discharged from further 
liability on their said bond, as to the performance of all official 
duties, upon the part of said officer, from this date. 

Messrs. Henr}^ Hunt, Oscar Speed and W. B. Lewis voting 
for this order, and C. Axelson, voting against this order. 

The State op Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

I, George W. Davenport, Clerk of the Chancer}- Court, and 
ex-oficio Clerk of Board of Supervisors, within and for said 
count}', do hereb}^ certif}' that the foregoing two pages contain 
a true and correct cop}^ of the order of Board of Supervisors 
of said county and State, made and entered on the 27th day 
of October, A. D. 1874, approving the official bonds of Peter 
Crosby, as Sheriff and Tax Collector of said countj^ and State, 
as the same appears of record in my oflEice. 

Witness my hand and seal of said Court, affixed at office 
this the 2d day of January, A. D. 1875. 

[Seal.]< . Geo. W. Davenport, Clerk. 

W. H. Nelson, Deputy Clerk. 



B O 2iT ID 



OF 



GEO. W. DAVEiSTORT AS CHANCERY CLERK. 



Know all Men by these Presents: That George W. Daven- 
port, as principal, and Claiborne Greene, Cbas. E. Furlong, 
Martin Keary, Stephen Johnson, and Thomas M. Broadwaters, 
as sureties, are held and firmly bound unto the State of Missis- 
sippi, in the penal sum of twenty thousand dollars, for the 
payment of which sum, well and truly to be made, we hereby 
bind ourselves, our executors and administrators, jointly and 
severally, firmlv bv these presents, dated this. . . .day of Dec, 
A. D. l'871. 

Whereas, The above bounden, George W. Davenport, was 
duly elected to the office of Clerk of the Chancery Court, of 
Warren countv, in said State, on the 7th day of November. 
A. D. 1871, for the term ending on the 1st day of January, A. 
D. 1876: 

Therefore, The condition of this obligation is such, that 
if the said George W. Davenport shall faithfully perform^ and 
discharge all the duties of the said office of Clerk of the 
Chancer V Court, of Warren County, and all the acts and things 
required*' by law% or incident to the said office, during his con- 
tinuance therein; and shall faithfully receive and pay such 
sums of money as by law, and the orders and decrees of said 
Court, it shall be made his duty to receive and pay over, then 
the above obligation to be void, otherwise, to remain in full 

force and virtue. 

Geo. W. Davenport. [Seal] 

Claiborne Green, [Seal] 

Chas. E. Furlong, [Seal J 

Martin Keary, [Seal] 

Stephen Johnson, [Seal] 

Thos. M. Broadwateks. [Seal | 

State of Mississippi, Warren County, ss. 

This 2nd day of December, A. D. 1871, personally appeared 
before me, the above Claiborne Green, Chas. E. Furlong, Mar- 
tin Keary, Stephen Johnson, Thos. M. Broadwaters, who sev_^ 
erally signed the foregoing bond, as sureties, and acknowledged 
that 'they executed the same; and being by me first sworn, ac- 



290 



cording to law, severally, say, the said Green, that he is worth 
the sumo two thousand dollars, over and above all his just 
debts and lega liabilities, and liable to execution at law; Vhe 
said Chas. E. Fur ong, that he is worth in like manner the sum 
ot ten thousand dollars, over and above all his iust debts -nd 
legal liabilities, and liable to execution at law; thfJ^^rd Margin 
Keary, that he is worth the sum of five thousand dollars, over 

Pvp/nH^''' f^ '" l':'^ '^'^^'^ ""'"'^ ^'^^^ liabilities, and liable to 
execution at lau'; the said btephen Johnson, that he is worth 

doh^?'"' 11 "^^ 1 i'^^^^^"^^ '^""^^^''^ «^^^^- '-^"^^ ^^^ove all his just 
dc^bts and legal habihties, and liable to execution at law; the 
th iV/'"'''' f\ Broadwaters, that he is worth the sum of 
W.l 1 oKK?" dollars over and above all his just debts and 
legal liabilities, and liable to execution at law. 

E. Hill, 
. Chancellor Uth Dist, Miss. 

OATH OF OFFICE. 

I, Geo. W Davenport do solemnly swear that I will faith- 
fully support, and true allegiance bear, the Constitution of the 
United feates, and the State of Mississippi, and obey the laws 
tliereof; that I am not disqualified from holding office bv the 
Constitution of the United States, or the State ?f Mississ^ippi! 
that I will laithfully discharge the duties of the office upon 
which I am about to enter: So help me God. 

c 1 1 1 , ^' ^' Davenport. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, at Vicksburg, Miss 
this 2nd day of December, A. D. 1871. "" ' 

E. Hill. 

Chancello?'. 

ENDORSED. 

I hereby approve the within and foregoing bond, and the 
sureties to the same. ' 

E. Hill, 
Datea Dec. !•, 1S71. (^''"'"^eUor Uth Dist, Mis.. 

\Vonpprove the within bond, which is already approved by 
the L/Jiancellor. ^ x r j 

Wm. McGee, 

T.., 1 T^ , . .^ ^- ^I- Arthur, Clerk. 

tiled December 2, 1871. 

A. H. Arthur, 
rrt„,, o T.-- Clerk. 

IHE »5TATE OF MISSISSIPPI, WaRREN CoUNTY, SS. 

I, George W. Davenport, Clerk of the Chancery Court 
within and for said county, do hereby certify that the foreo-o- 
ing Our (4) pages contain a true and correct copy of the offi- 
cial bond of Goo. W. Davenport, a, Chancery Cleric of safd 



291 

count}' and State, his oath of office, and endorsement approv- 
ing said bond, and the liling of same, 2d December, 1871, as 
the same appears on file and of record in my office. 

Witness m}^ hand and seal of said Court, affixed at office 
this the 2d day of January, A. D. 1875. 

# Geo. W. Davenport, 

Clerk. 
W. W. Nelson, Depvty Clerk. 



ViCKSBDRG, Miss., December 29, 1874. 

Hon. F. II. Little, Chairman Legislative Committee : 

Dear Sir — In pursuance of the arrangement on yesterday, I 
will furnish 3'ou with the names of fifteen witness on the part 
of the tax-payers. But as the charge is made in the Act 
which authorized the investigation, that the people here were 
in a state of insurrection, we deem it prudent to allow the tes- 
timon}' to come out first in support of the charge. When 
3'our committee shall be satisfied that a jjrima facie case has 
been made out from the testimony, w^e will have our witnesses 
ready to answer such a case. 

Very respectfully, yours, etc., 

Warren Co'>van. 

Jackson, Miss., December 29, 1874. 

To the Committee of the Legislature of the State of Missis- 
sippi to investigate the affairs of ex count}/ officials of 
Warren county: 

Gentlemen — Should in}' official transactions as Circuit Clerk 
of Warren county be investigated by you, I desire to give my 
testimony in reference thereto, but prefer to do so in this city, 
as I have good grounds for believing that my life would be 
endangered should I appear before you in Vicksburg in the 
present state of aff'airs in that city. 

Veiy respectfull}', etc., 

T. W. Cardozo, 
Ex- Circuit Clerk ^ etc, 



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